All of Me
by SpencerRemyLvr
Summary: Spencer Reid had been a thief for years, right up until the day a job went bad and he met Jason Gideon. With no other choice, he joined the Bureau and left everything behind. But now, that part of his life is coming back to haunt him. When an old friend turns up and tells Spencer that the only person he's ever loved is missing, he'll go through Heaven and Hell to get him back.
1. Chapter 1

When Jason Gideon had first walked into the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office, it had been to do a consultation on their local arsonists. He'd come planning on spending a few hours in a room, going over files, reading reports, looking at maps. Maybe do a few interviews. What he hadn't expected was to find himself caught up in a simple case of jewel theft. Yet somehow, though the consultation was done and he should be on his way back to DC, he found himself sitting here in an interview room across the table from a kid who looked close to sixteen—his records put him at just a few weeks shy of twenty—watching the calm brown eyes that stared back out at him from a face that looked far more innocent than his file would suggest.

Really, the locals had this kid dead to rights. He'd been caught holding the figurative smoking gun. They had found him at the museum, priceless jewels in hand, his broken leg showing just why he hadn't run. It was open and shut. Except, every cop agreed—there was no way he had done this job alone. Not with the type of security that was on the museum. There was just no way it was a one man job and the one man that they'd caught wasn't talking.

The sheriff had asked Jason if he'd mind taking a look while he was here. Really, it hadn't seemed like that big of a deal. He was already there. It wasn't hard to stand and observe their interrogation. Only, as he'd stood behind the glass, Jason had found himself drawn in.

This kid made absolutely no sense to him. A student at Caltech, where he'd been attending since he was fourteen years old, and already in possession of two doctorates in mathematics and chemistry and two B.A.'s in psychology and sociology, working on a third Ph.D. in engineering—he was an absolute genius. There was no doubt about that. IQ of 187, eidetic memory, and his transcripts said that he had been clocked at a reading speed of twenty thousand words per minute. He was the gem of Caltech at the moment. A genius among geniuses. He'd never been in trouble there, only missed a few days now and again, and that was no different than any other student. He came from a single family home, his father having left when he was younger, and his mother extremely supportive of his education. There wasn't a single mark on his record. All in all, he looked like the very last type of person one would expect of this kind of theft. Yet there he sat, calm and collected, saying nothing. The only time he'd spoken at all was to say that he understood his rights and to deny it when they mentioned accomplices. Other than that, he managed to talk without ever actually saying anything, twisting his words and the officers words around without a single one of the officers seeming to even realize what he was doing.

He was a puzzle. And Jason Gideon had never been able to walk away from a puzzle.

At his request, they sent the kid back to rest under guard at the hospital. His leg was in a cast and he had a minor concussion. They'd only brought him down here to speak because the doctor had okayed a day trip. But they wanted to keep him for observation for a few more days at the hospital. Jason took advantage of those few days to dig a little deeper into the history of one Dr. Spencer Reid. What he found started to paint a slightly different picture.

While Spencer attended Caltech on scholarships, a close look at those scholarships showed just what the money was there for, what it could and couldn't be spent on, and just how much there was. Paired up with the tally of expenses that Jason built for Spencer's life, it didn't add up. He dug deeper, looking at more, and found a few more pieces. His mother was in a sanitarium. A very _expensive_ sanitarium, of which her insurance only covered half the costs of, and she'd been there since Spencer had her committed when he was eighteen. Paranoid schizophrenia. He didn't have her medical records so there was no telling just how long she'd had that diagnosis, but he imagined it'd been there for a while if her eighteen year old had had her committed. It put Spencer's teenage years in a slightly different light.

It was when Jason looked at Diana Reid that a few things started to crop up, to make him wonder. They were nothing concrete, nothing that he could prove, but they were all parts of the puzzle. How was it that Diana had managed to stay in her home right up until the day she was committed on the minimal income that she was capable of bringing in? Eventually, in the last few years, she'd brought in nothing at all. So how had she had the money to pay for her home? Electricity? Groceries? It wasn't from the absentee husband. Nothing indicated he was paying any kind of support.

How was her care being paid for now?

Those were all questions that Jason didn't have an answer for. A bit more digging, quite a few phone calls, and a bit of persuasion finally answered some of it. But that answer only brought more questions. Diana's bills had been paid from a private, offshore account that was under the name of Penny Montgomery. Whoever that was, they had paid Diana's bills—and, by way of transfers from Diana's account to Spencer's, they'd paid Spencer's bills too—and they were currently paying for her care at Bennington.

All of this just made Jason more and more curious.

He gathered the information to him and carefully built a personal file on this kid. Then, once he had everything he could, he sat in his hotel room alone for an entire day, thinking about what it was he needed to do. By the time he left the next day, he had a plan in mind, and had already taken the appropriate measures to get it in place.

That was how he came to be here, sitting in the interview room across from Spencer Reid, observing as much as he was being observed.

He was good at what he did. The glasses, the shaggy hair, the bit of bangs in his face, the slight tilt to his head; all of it was orchestrated. Of that, Jason was sure. It was all made to make him look young and _innocent_. Like a shy little bookworm. The very last person one would suspect for something like this—for anything, really. There had to be some truth to the look. Everyone that Jason had spoken with at the school had insisted that Spencer was a sweet, shy young man, always willing to help, to go the extra mile with his work. They said he was reclusive, unsure in social situations, but never unfriendly. How much of that was really him and how much was an act? That was what Jason was trying to figure out now.

The silence stretched on for a few long minutes between them. It was Jason who finally broke it. His lips twitched ever so slightly in a small smile, his only concession that Spencer had won this initial round. Calmly, he leaned forward, folding his arms on the table. "Did the other officers explain to you why I'm here, Dr. Reid?"

The use of his title had Spencer's eyebrows shifting up just the slightest bit. No one yet had afforded him that respect. The only reaction that Jason saw to it was an almost unnoticed twitch to his lips that he would bet was humor. It was there and gone again before Jason could get a good enough read on it, though. Spencer's expression was once more that calm, shy look. "No, sir."

He was polite, just as he'd been when Jason had observed him talking to the cops. There was a soft note to his words, just a bit of hesitance, like he was unsure. Whether it was sincere or not remained to be seen. Jason would play his game, for now.

"My name is Jason Gideon. I work at the BAU. That's…"

"The behavioral analysis unit, a department within the FBI." Spencer finished for him. "I know who you are, Agent Gideon. I attended your seminar last year on profiling at Caltech. What I don't know, however, is why you're here. Why has a profiler been brought in on _my_ case?"

Jason lifted his eyebrows. "You don't think your case is worthy of being looked at?"

"I believe my case is as about as simple as they come."

There were a few different ways that this conversation could go. Jason had known that coming in. You had to be prepared to take things in various different directions depending on how the interview was going. As he sat there now, looking at this young genius across from him, he made a decision on how he wanted this to go, changing his original plan. Something told him that some random, blunt pieces of honesty would get him much further than anything else. "I believe your case is far from simple." He told Spencer, carefully watching his face. "I believe there's more here than meets the eye. A lot more."

"Is that so?"

"A couple of the officers out there think that you might be innocent." Jason told him.

This time there was no denying the twitch to Spencer's lips. "They think the man they found _holding the jewels_ might somehow be innocent in this? My faith in the sheriff's department grows. That is truly impressive police work."

There was a hint of something in his voice that Jason had heard in plenty of interviews through the years. It was that tone of derision when law enforcement came up. With what he'd learned of Spencer's background, the history with his mother, it wasn't any great stretch to assume that the young genius had grown up with a fear or dislike of law enforcement. He'd probably spent quite a lot of his life trying to avoid them. If his mom had been sick for as long as Jason believed she had been, then it was no stretch of the imagination to think that Spencer had probably put a lot of effort into not attracting the attention of social services, not wanting to be removed from his mother's care. That would mean he would've worked hard to avoid police, too. Add in Spencer's suspected lifestyle _now_ , well, that derisive tone wasn't surprising at all.

"Why did you steal the jewels?" Jason asked. When his question brought no answer, just as he'd expected, he tipped his head a little. "Was it to help pay for your mother's care? Bennington is a rather expensive, high class institute."

Ah, there it was. A crack in his armor. Temper flashed hot and bright in Spencer's eyes before he smothered it back down. "I don't pay for my mother's care." Spencer said calmly. "Someone else does. A friend of the family."

He could've played the part here, looked in the file he held and pretended that he didn't know, that he hadn't studied this boy. But the honesty he'd showed so far seemed to be working better than any of the interview techniques the others had tried. "Yes. A Penny Montgomery. Penny must be a very good family friend. They pay for your mothers care and have, in fact, been paying bills for quite a while now. For the both of you."

"Good friends are few and far between." Spencer said, smiling.

"That's true. I can't think of any friends I have that would take the fall for a robbery for me. I can't imagine the type of loyalty that takes."

Spencer folded his hands in his lap and said nothing. Just, smiled.

"I thought about this, when I was looking at your file." Jason sat back as well, crossing his legs and resting his hands on the file that was in his lap. "I understand loyalty. I do. But to take the fall for this kind of crime? You know that you're going to do time for this. So I asked myself, why would he take the fall for his friends? Because there's no doubt that this job was at _least_ a three person job. I imagine if we dug enough, we'd find someone on the inside. How strong must your loyalty be to not even flinch at taking this all on yourself?"

"Is loyalty amongst criminals a strange thing?" Spencer asked. It was a delicately worded question. Curious, without implicating himself or implying anything at all.

"On occasion. Not many criminals would take a fall like this without implicating at least one of their partners. Not unless they had something much more important to protect."

Ah! There it was. Nothing overt, no. Just a micro expression, a twitch barely caught. Enough to let him know he was on the right track here.

"You're quite the puzzle, Dr. Reid." Jason said, jumping off that track and onto another. "There's quite a lot about you that doesn't make sense. Things that don't add up."

"Is that so?"

He had to give Spencer credit. There was no edge to his tone. He was giving nothing away now. Whatever little crack he'd showed before was closed back up now. Little did he realize that that was just as telling as anything else. All of it gave Jason more information. More to put into the mental profile he was building on this fascinating kid. The more he spoke with him, the more he was convinced that the plan he'd built was right.

Jason drew in a breath and prepared himself. Time to start to push. And Spencer had unknowingly given him just the buttons to use.

"I'm going to play it straight with you here, Dr. Reid. You're in a lot of trouble. And you're going to be in a lot more. Because this isn't your first theft, is it? This isn't the first time you've done this. You're too collected, to professional to not have any practice at playing a con. You've been playing all of us since the moment the police picked you up."

Spencer's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. He said nothing, though. Just waited.

That was fine. Jason didn't need him to talk yet. Picking up the folder from his lap, he set it down on the table and left his palm flat on it, drawing Spencer's eyes down there just as he'd intended. "I did my research on you, Dr. Reid. I looked into your past. I spoke with the college and a few of the people there and I spoke with your landlord at your apartment. They didn't tell me much, but they told me enough. Enough for me to have a few more questions and to give me the answers to a few important things." He sat up a little straight and met Spencer's gaze dead on. "You're a con man, Dr. Reid. A very good one, yes, but a con man."

"Like recognizes like." Spencer fired back smoothly.

To the kid's surprise, Jason laughed. "True. In some ways, profilers are like con men. We both read people. Only, instead of judging who might be the best mark, we judge who might be the best Unsub. Catching them is essentially playing out the very best con for the job. I have to admit, you're one of the best I've seen for one your age. But you're not perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Tell me—if I look a little deeper into your past, into who you are now, what am I going to find?"

"I don't know." Spencer spread his hands out, his face so innocent, so earnest, and it was one of the best acts that Jason had seen in a long time.

Time to really press. "What if I looked into this friend your landlord says visits you? I'm sure if we pulled up security footage near your place, we might be able to catch a face. What am I going to find if I look into him?"

And there it was. That small little chink once more. A slight tightening around his eyes, a flash of something sharp in the dark brown depths. Oh, yes.

Jason didn't let him answer. He just pressed even more without giving him the chance to recover. "What about if I start to look into your absences from school, Dr. Reid? You don't take much time off, but there are dates that you're gone. What am I going to find if I look into those? Or into your spring break trip two years ago to Rome? Because I will look. I'll get a team together and we'll comb through every inch of your life, every tiny little detail, and start matching it up with unsolved thefts. What would we find if we tried to match those up? Something tells me there might be quite a lot there."

Oh, this kid was good. He knew he was screwed here. With each word Jason said, he knew his grave was steadily being dug. Yet he didn't break. His mask cracked a little, yes, just enough to show Jason the calculation that those sharp eyes were capable of. They didn't look as innocent anymore. They were watching him carefully, reading him, assessing, planning, that amazing brain of his working faster than anything until finally his gaze turned calm once more. "I'm assuming there's an 'or' here?" Spencer asked him. He arched one eyebrow. "You word choice implies there's another option to everything you just listed. As I'm assuming you know I'm not going to hand over any names to you, I feel safe in inferring that there is some other option you plan on offering here. You've been strangely honest up until now, Agent Gideon. Don't start playing games now."

"Doctor, we've been playing a game since the first moment I saw you."

Spencer conceded that point with a small tip of his head.

The rightness of this settled over Jason once more. Yes, he'd made the right call here. He had absolutely no qualms as he sat up and folded his arms onto the desk once more. "I can wipe the slate clean for you, Dr. Reid, like nothing ever happened. No jail time, no record, none of it."

"In return for what?"

"A job." Jason said. He had the pleasure of watching the surprise widen Spencer's eyes, the most open and honest emotion that he'd seen yet. "The Bureau's willing to wipe this clean for you and in return, you would come and work with us. With me, actually, at the BAU."

Spencer blinked a few times at him like he couldn't quite process this. "You're telling me that you want to, to clear my record and sweep this all under the rug, and all I have to do is agree to become a profiler, like you?"

"A mind like yours is too bright to waste rotting away inside of some prison cell."

There was suspicion now. He hadn't really expected anything less. Spencer was too smart to take things at face value. "I'm not trading information for immunity."

"No information." Jason agreed, smiling. "However, you have to understand that this would mean this part of your life would be over. The lifestyle, the people, would have to be left far behind. Because, the Bureau will be watching, and the first sign that you're slipping, don't think that they'd hesitate to take away the protection they've given. You agree to this, you're going to have to start over, Dr. Reid. Start fresh. A whole new life, with all of this left far behind you." Sitting back once more, he folded his hands into his lap again. "Or, you turn us down and I call my team out here and we start looking. Digging our way into every inch of your life."

The glare Spencer gave him was sharp. "Blackmail is a poor way to start any working relationship."

"I'm simply offering you two options. Which option you take is entirely up to you."

The interview room went quiet. Jason watched carefully, trying to read the expression on Spencer's face, in his eyes, but it was like the young genius had shut down. He'd pulled inside of his head and left his face blank. It wasn't hard to imagine what was going on inside of that mind of his. He'd be analyzing all sides of this, all possible outcomes, looking at every inch of it and weighing all his options. Jason knew which choice he'd take, though. He knew it even before the life came back to those brown eyes and they locked on his once more.

A small smile curved Spencer's lips. "Where do I sign?"


	2. Chapter 2

_This takes place at the beginning of season 6, right after JJ left. Also, in this, Remy was never banished from NO and is still a part of the Guild, ready to take over for this father_

* * *

 _Nine Years Later_

Nice years had gone by since that day in the Los Angeles sheriff's office. Nine years since a nineteen year old Spencer Reid had walked away from his old life and started his new one. There'd been plenty of moments over those years that Spencer had had cause to both celebrate and loathe the choice he'd made that day in that little interview room. Times where he knew for sure that he'd done the right thing and times where he'd regretted it more than anything else. Most of the time, it was a decision that sat inside of him, one that he didn't ever forget and that, in his more honest moments, he could admit he'd never quite come to terms with.

He had a job that he'd been surprised to discover he truly loved. One that was fulfilling and _good_ and that he was good at. Jason had seen the potential in him all those years ago and he'd help to nurture and cultivate it. He'd encouraged Spencer to grow into the profiler that he was now. A good profiler, one who was a part of the elite team at the BAU. The years hadn't been easy ones; the team had their series of ups and downs. In some ways, Spencer could honestly say he wasn't sure which lifestyle had been more dangerous. The one he'd led before, or the one he was in now. He'd certainly come closer to death more times in this line of work.

The life he had now was so different than what he'd pictured back then. It was his life, though. Spencer had embraced it with everything he had, cutting ties to his old life just as he'd been told. He'd changed, reinvented himself, and he had left the person he'd been far, far behind. The people who knew him then wouldn't recognize him now, and the friends he had now wouldn't believe the boy he'd once been.

If sometimes he felt a pang in his heart for the loss of that life, or for the loss of the people who had been in that life, well, that was his own business. It was safer this way. Safer to stay apart. For all of them.

Little did Spencer know that the barriers he'd built between his old life and new wouldn't hold out forever. They were about to come down in a spectacular fashion and there would be no more hiding. The truth was going to come out and there would be no telling what would be left standing when it was all done.

* * *

"Come on, Reid!" Derek cajoled. "I'll owe you for it, I swear."

Spencer looked at his best friend with amusement and exasperation. For the past ten minutes Derek had been trying to convince Spencer to come out with him after work. It was kind of entertaining to see just how much effort he was putting into trying to convince him. Usually a simple no, or a few minutes of teasing, were all it took to get his friend to back off. Tonight, that wasn't enough. Derek was perched on the edge of his desk and was pulling out everything in his arsenal to try and get Spencer to agree. He'd even roped in Emily, who was sitting over at her desk watching them with a smile. It hadn't taken much to get her to chime in, though.

He knew why they were doing it. Ever since JJ had left, his friends had been worried about him. They all knew he didn't take to change or loss all that well. After the way he'd reacted when Jason left…well, they'd been prepared for just about anything. This time around they weren't going to let him hide out and mourn privately.

As much as he appreciated their efforts, though, he really didn't feel like spending an evening at a noisy club or bar. "I appreciate it, Morgan, I really do. I'm just not in the mood to go out."

"It'll be good for you, kid. You need to get out more."

"Large groups of people really aren't my thing." Spencer reminded him.

That didn't deter Derek in the least bit. "We'll get a booth at the back, just the three of us. It's us you'd be coming to hang out with, man, not everyone else."

This wasn't something that Derek was just going to let go. Spencer could see that. He sat back in his seat, grateful that his work was pretty much done for the day anyways. Resting his arms on the armrests, he folded his hands over his stomach and rocked back a little to look up at his friend. Derek was looking down at him so earnestly, it was damn hard to say no. And Spencer really, really wanted to say no. He didn't want to go out tonight. He didn't really want to go out _any_ night. It wasn't just because of their recent loss of JJ, either. "Morgan." He held up a hand, cutting off whatever Derek had been about to say. "No, please. I know you're just trying to help, I do, but I just…" He blew out a breath and looked down, shrugging uncomfortably. "I'd just like to go home."

"It's fine, Reid." Emily interjected. She, too, cut off Derek, giving him a sharp look and a quick shake of the head over the top of Spencer's head, where the young genius wouldn't see. When she spoke, her voice was full of understanding. "You just enjoy a relaxing night. We've all earned it and we're all entitled to spend it however we want."

Gratitude filled Spencer. He looked up and gave her a half smile. "Thanks."

He should've known better than to think that Derek would give up that easily on him. The man was determined to get Spencer out of his house one way or another. It'd be extremely frustrating if he didn't know the amount of caring that was behind it. "Okay, fine, no clubs or bars." Derek said. "What about my place, this weekend? I got the newest Iron Man movie. You bring the drinks, I got the movie and the pizza, and we can hang out, just the two of us."

Now that was definitely something more his speed. Spencer's shoulders relaxed and lost a bit of their tension. When he looked up at Derek, it was with an honest, slightly relieved smile. "That sounds great, Morgan." Though he did like his solitude, a day spent hanging out on Derek's couch watching movies, something he'd done countless times over the years, sounded absolutely perfect.

Derek looked pleased with himself for having found something that Spencer agreed to. "Great. Just drop by around lunchtime."

"Sounds great."

Pleased with his plans, Derek finally pushed himself up off Spencer's desk. He didn't get very far, though. Just as he reached his feet at the side of the desk, something caught his eye. "Well hello there." Derek murmured. He stood up a little straighter, eyes drifting over towards the bullpen entrance, and an appreciative smile curved his lips. "Who is _that_?"

Spencer turned absently to look in the direction Derek was gazing. He had to do a double take when he saw the woman walking in beside Anderson. The sight of her hit him like a fist to the gut. "Belle." He breathed out.

It'd been years since he'd seen her— _nine, almost ten years—_ and though she'd aged, time had treated her well. There was plenty of the girl he'd known in the woman that she was now. There was a bit more fullness to those cherry red lips, a hint of something more in the ice blue eyes. Long blond hair was pulled into tiny cornrows that were pulled up into some elaborate twist on the back of her head, a few left cascading down to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Her tall, well-toned body was stunningly showcased in a black leather pencil skirt, a button up white shirt, and a wide belt over her slender waist. Her legs were bare between the skirt and the strappy sandals she wore. She never had liked stockings. That was a strange thing to remember, yet it drifted through his mind then. All in all, she looked just as gorgeous as he remembered, only slightly more mature than she'd been.

Pushing up to his feet, Spencer ignored the sound of Derek's voice beside him, the curious "Reid? Do you know her?"

Blue eyes found his the instant that he was upright and Spencer saw the relief flash. Completely ignoring the man escorting her, Belle made straight for Spencer. "Spencer!"

The two met halfway and Spencer was pulled into a hug that was both familiar and different all at the same time. Belle pulled him in just as tight as she'd always done, a quick squeeze, and then drew back to cup his face in her hands before giving him a quick kiss, another thing she'd always done. She'd done it back in the day to embarrass him and because she'd loved watching him blush. His reaction wasn't any different now. His cheeks were warm and he could actually _feel_ the surprised stares of more than a few people around him. Only, looking at her eyes, there was none of her usual spark there, no humor at his discomfort. Just something that froze Spencer's insides.

His ability to feel one thing and show another hadn't been lost over the years. If anything, it'd improved. Right then he worked on projecting only happiness at seeing his old friend. The rest of it, he shoved down. "Belle. It's so good to see you." That, at least, was no lie. "What're you doing here? I wasn't expecting a visit." Talk about understatements!

Belle could bullshit with the best of them. She smiled, reaching out to clasp his hands in hers. Only he could feel just how tightly she squeezed him. "I was hoping to talk to y', but I didn't know where y' lived. Can y' spare a moment?" That was a blatant lie, he knew. Belle could find out anything she wanted. That included his address. Her eyes slid over the others nearby and then back to him, lips quirking in a flirtatious smile. "Somewhere a bit more private, _oui_?"

"You can use my office, Reid." Derek interjected.

That offer didn't come without a price tag. Spencer knew his friend would want to know what was going on later. But it was also an offer that Spencer wasn't going to refuse. Derek's office was watched by cameras but it had no audio in there. It was their best chance at privacy.

Holding his arm out, Spencer offered his elbow. "Right this way."

She slipped her hand into his arm and smiled up at him as he led her away. "I think we've caused quite de stir, here."

"They're not exactly used to seeing me with such a beautiful woman on my arm."

"Flatterer." She tipped her head to smile at him as he led her out the bullpen doors. "Good to see some things haven't changed. Y'r still sweetly shy and endearingly polite."

"My mother taught me the proper way to treat a lady. I don't know any other way to be." Spencer said simply.

She leaned in against him, bumping her hip to his. "I remember a time when y' could barely talk to me wit'out stuttering and stammering and turning so deliciously red. Y' was a sweet thing back den."

He gave a low hum that could've been agreement and led her down the hall to the door to Derek's office. It wasn't until they were inside and the door firmly shut that he finally spoke again. He turned around from the door to find her sitting on the desk, hands resting on the edge and legs crossed. The mask was gone from her eyes, though. So was his. He straightened up a little and met her gaze head on. "What's going on, Belle? What are you doing here?"

"Right to de point den, huh? Not even a 'how y' do' f' an old friend?" She arched one pale eyebrow at him.

He pushed a few steps away from the door but didn't come in any closer. "I haven't seen you in nine and a half years and you suddenly decide to show up, _at my work_ , though we both know it would've taken you seconds to find my home address. In fact, I'm betting you already knew my address before you even came here. That tells me that either time is of the essence, or...going to my place isn't safe. Neither one of those is a good option. Now, I repeat, what's going on?"

The smile on Belle's lips grew wider and she huffed out a soft laugh. "Y' always did see de things others didn't. I always liked dat about y'. All right den, straight to de point. When was de last time y' saw Remy?"

That threw him. He blinked at her a few times as his brain processed her question. "I…you know when I left, Belle. You know when and why better than anyone else. I know Remy would've told you."

" _Oui_ , he did." Belle agreed. Her gaze was sharp, locked on his and not backing down. It dared him to lie to her. "I aint stupid, Spencer, so don't try acting like I am. I know de story behind why y' left, just like I know y' and Remy have seen one another since den. Who do y' think help covers on his end when he vanishes, hm? So don't play dese games with me. When was de last time y' saw him?"

That feeling of wrongness inside of Spencer grew. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. If Belle was here, asking about Remy, about when he'd last seen him—she wouldn't do that unless it was a last resort. Unless she hadn't been able to find him anywhere else and she was desperate. "It's been almost a year." Spencer finally said. His voice was empty, flat. "When I was shot. I woke up from surgery and he was in my hospital room. That's really the only time I ever see him—when I end up in the hospital."

"He keeps track of y'. Y'r safety's important to him."

"His safety's important to me, too." Spencer snapped back, life returning to his voice, a defensive note creeping in.

The smile Belle gave him was surprisingly gentle. One that very few would ever get the privilege to see on her. " _Je sais_."

Just those two words, yet they diffused some of his temper. She did know. Belle was one of the only people who really knew just how much Spencer cared. She understood just how much of a sacrifice he'd made when he walked away.

Blowing out a breath, Spencer ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face. "What's going on, Belle? You wouldn't be here asking me about Remy unless you'd exhausted everything else."

"Remy'd be furious if he knew I was here talking with y'." Belle agreed. She sighed out a breath and her body slumped slightly, giving him a glimpse of the true worry that she was carrying. It didn't ease his own tension any. She wiped a hand over her mouth and then dropped both hands to her lap. Moving closer, Spencer went up to the desk, hitching one hip on the edge. He laid a hand hesitantly on her arm, never one quite comfortable with offering physical comfort. She knew and understood that. Her hand came up, catching his to give a brief squeeze, and her lips curved up just the slightest bit. Then she dropped her hand again and straightened up, squaring her shoulders with that inner strength she'd always possessed. "It's been three weeks since anyone's seen hide or hair of Remy. He just up an disappeared without a word to anyone. De last anyone knew, he was on a job in Seattle. Got it done, an he told me he was gonna be on his way home dat night. But dere's no record of him getting on his plane. Once he left de hotel, it's like he vanished. We can't find any trace of him. Not de t'ieves, not de assassins, none of us."

Something inside of Spencer twisted. He pushed it down, fought back the nauseous feeling. Licking dry lips, he tried to think, tried to be logical and not let his imagination run away with him. Tried not to think of all the things that could've happened. "Is…" He paused, clearing his throat, and his voice was just a bit stronger when he tried again. "Is there a chance that he decided to take some time off? Or go underground? He always was known to go his own way with things."

" _Non_." Belle shook her head. "Not wit'out telling me. Ever since he started taking over more and more f' his Papa, he's been a bit more serious about things. Even if he doesn't tell me where he's going, he always makes a point to at least let me know dat he is going. He says his Papa taught him dat. Never disappear wit'out at least letting someone y' trust know dat y'r going. Den dere's someone who might know if y' go missing. Like wit' dis."

That sounded like Jean-Luc's advice. It made sense, too. Okay, so things just got a bit worse. Spencer curled his one hand against the edge of the desk. That meant that this wasn't just one of Remy's retreats when things got too crowded or too hot. "I'm assuming that he has a discreet way of contacting you if he's been forced to go underground for some kind of threat?"

" _Oui._ We've got a system set up. Even in de shittiest situations, he would've found a way to follow it. _Three weeks_ , Spencer. A week, I wouldn't have stressed. Two was pushing it, but I was willing to just keep quietly looking. He could've just been trying to lay low. But three? Dere's something wrong here. Something big. And I don't know who de hell to trust." She lifted her head and locked cool blue eyes on him. In them was more emotion than she ever let show there. "I need y'r help, Spencer."

"Of course." There was no other answer he could give. No way that he could walk away from this.

Wiping a hand over his mouth, Spencer tried to think of what he could do that the others hadn't already done. The resources of thieves and assassins were immense. The amount of favors they could call in on something…then again, Belle had probably tried to keep that down to a minimum. She'd said that Remy was taking over more and more for Jean-Luc. That meant that he was in a position of authority. If word got out that he'd up and vanished, it could open them up for a lot of trouble. This was something they were probably going to try and keep quiet. The thieves wouldn't want everyone knowing. They'd want to keep this quiet and handle it in-house. That meant there were some things they might not have been able to do.

He had to handle this carefully on his end, too. He needed to be as discreet as they were. Not just for Remy's sake, but for his own, too. With Jason no longer here, there was no one on the team that knew about Spencer's past. They had no idea whatsoever about any of that. Jason had made good on his word when he'd brought Spencer here. He'd helped him start over, without anything from his old life hanging over him. Spencer had reinvented himself. To the people here, to his friends, he was nothing more than the shy little genius from Vegas. They knew about his mother, about her being in Bennington, but only because a case had brought it to light. They had no idea about the rest of it and Spencer wanted to keep it that way. If the truth came out now, it could destroy the life he'd built here.

What kind of help could he offer, here? What could he do that Belle hadn't already had done? Running Remy's name through the system would throw up a ton of red flags. Besides, Remy wouldn't be dumb enough to use his real name for anything, and Spencer had no idea what kind of aliases he was using these days. Maybe he could look at the hotel. There had to be some kind of footage from there to show that Remy left. If he could plot out the man's route, maybe find where exactly Remy had vanished from, they might be able to have some kind of starting point.

"All right, let me see what I can do." Spencer said. He straightened up from the desk, pushing his hair back from his face again. "It's going to be a bit tricky if I want to keep everything discreet, and there's not a whole lot I can do without more details, but here isn't the best place to get into that. I get off in an hour and a half. Where can I meet with you at?"

"I'm staying at de Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown, in de Potomac suite. We can meet up dere. I've got a few of m' most trusted people wit' me."

"Okay, you head back there and I'll wrap up things here at work and try to get out early. When I get off work, I'll head over and we'll talk a little more openly and build a plan." He reached out to her and Belle reached back, their hands catching together. Her fingers felt so delicate in his, yet he knew just what kind of damage they were capable of. Holding on, he gave them a gentle squeeze. "We'll find him, Belle. Whatever it takes, we'll bring him home."

* * *

After he escorted Belle back to the elevators, it was time for Spencer to try and figure out what he could do. There was no time for the panic that was curling inside of him. He needed to finish up his work and get out of here as quickly as possible. All of the things that he could think of to try and locate his friend weren't things that he could really do here. Not without tipping off his team.

There was a little voice inside of him that was screaming underneath this calm and cool exterior. Remy was missing! Remy was _missing_! There was no way he'd just up and vanish for three weeks straight without telling someone. Spencer didn't care how long they'd been apart; he knew that with absolute certainty. Belle was right to be worried. Remy wouldn't do this, not willingly. Someone had to have taken him. Or _…_ no. No. He wasn't going to think that. If someone had killed him, it would've shown up in the system and Belle would know. Remy's unique physicality would mark him even if he was labeled as a John Doe. His eyes would give him away every time. _Unless there wasn't anything left for anyone to find_ , a voice inside whispered.

Spencer shoved that down with a shudder. No, he wasn't going to think like that, because if he thought like that, it would mean that there was nothing he could do and he absolutely refused to accept that. Someone had _taken_ Remy. And if there was no sign of him yet, no ransom, no demands, no _anything_ , then it meant that he was still being held somewhere, still alive. All he had to do was figure out which one of Remy's multitude of enemies had done this. Then, he would figure out why, and he would bring Remy back home. Alive. There was no other alternative.

When he made his way back out to the bullpen, he wasn't really that surprised to find that Emily and Derek were waiting for him. Nor was he surprised when Derek practically pounced on him the minute he got within speaking distance. "Well, well, well, pre _tty_ boy." Derek drawled out, his face alight with humor. "You've been holding out on us."

"It's not what you think." Spencer said automatically. He brushed past his friend and went right to his desk, slipping down into his seat.

Emily was watching him as well, but not with the same amusement that Derek was. Her expression was more worried. "Is everything all right, Reid?"

He'd already thought on his way in here about what he would say to his friends. Keeping it as close to the truth as possible seemed the best route. He didn't want to lie; he always tried to avoid lying to them at all costs. Instead, there was just plenty that he hadn't told them. He blew out a breath and folded his hands on the papers on his desk, gathering himself. "I'm okay." That part was automatic, no matter what the situation. "I just…I've known Belle since I was in college. She came to ask me for a favor, that's all. It's fine."

His serious tone had effectively taken away any of Derek's teasing attitude. His friend was just as worried looking now as Emily was. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Spencer looked up at them both and gave them a soft smile. "No, but thank you. I appreciate the offer."

They'd all known one another long enough, had worked together and been through various hells together, that they'd all learned how to trust one another, and when to push things or when to back off. The two agents could see that this was something that was best left alone for now. Pushing Spencer when he didn't want to talk about something was a quick way to get his back up and to piss him off. That wasn't what they wanted. "All right, kid." Derek said. "But, you need us, you know where we are, okay?"

"Thanks." Spencer said.

His friends left him alone after that and Spencer appreciated it. He was having a hard enough time trying to focus on finishing the work in front of him. His mind only wanted to focus on one thing. _Please let him be okay_ , Spencer thought to himself, bending low over his work. He closed his eyes and sent up a fervent prayer to deities he didn't even believe in. _Please, just let him be okay._


	3. Chapter 3

The minute that the workday was done, Spencer was out the door. He didn't bother going home or stopping off for dinner or anything. As soon as he left the Bureau he was headed towards Belle's hotel. He knew he'd probably worried his friends by how quickly he left but he couldn't find it in himself to care about that. He could explain away his behavior to them later. Right now there was only one important thing in his world. Years of convincing himself that this was for the best, that he was doing the right thing, were all gone in the instant that he found out that Remy was missing. All bets were off until the Cajun was brought back home. Any promises Spencer had made, any deals he'd made with the Bureau, none of it meant anything.

Belle was waiting for him when he arrived at her suite. Either she'd figured the timing out well on her own or, more likely, she'd had someone watching for him and had prepared as soon as she knew he was coming. The dining room table in the suite was set up with an array of food.

She greeted him at the door with a hug and a kiss to the cheek. Here, away from his team, he let himself greet her back just as warmly, hugging her to him. She didn't try and stop him. Though Belle wasn't the touching type—in fact, she'd threatened more than a few people who'd attempted more than a handshake, and had almost stabbed someone once who'd hugged her when she hadn't given permission—she'd always had a hug or a soft touch for Spencer. According to Remy, she considered Spencer something like a little brother. That gave him privileges that weren't accorded to others.

Proof to point, she glared at him when they pulled back and declared "Y'r too damn skinny. Don't y' eat?"

He gave her the same answer e always had, even if his smile wasn't quite up to par. "I have a fast metabolism."

She gave an unladylike snort and took his arm before leading him over to the table. When he tried to steer towards the living room area, she shook her head and firmly led him towards the food. "I'll talk while y' eat. It's been a while but I remember how to Spencer-wrangle. Y' just sit y'r ass down in dat seat right dere and eat something."

"Belle…" He hadn't come here to eat or to play around. He'd come here to help her find Remy. She wouldn't have come to him unless desperate, which meant there wasn't time to waste on stupid, trivial things. He could skip a meal for a night. It wasn't going to kill him.

The look on her face as she pushed him down into the chair said that she'd heard all of that in just the low growl of her name. "Don't give me dat look, Spencer Reid." She snapped at him, eyes icy and sharp as they pinned him in place. "Y' think I'm gonna do anything dat might waste time or keep us from finding him? I came to y' f' help, didn't I? Dat should give y' a clue how desperate I am." The words stung, just as she' meant them to, and they had him snapping his mouth shut on any protest. She gave a firm nod when she saw that. "Good. Now, shut up and eat and I'll lay it all out f' y'. By de time we're done, y' should be done and ready to get to work."

What else could he do? He wasn't dumb enough to piss Belle off and following her directions would get him what he wanted anyways. Even though he wasn't hungry in the least bit, he put some of food on his plate, paying so little attention he honestly couldn't have said what it was he picked or what he was eating. All he knew was that they were all easy finger foods and required little attention, which was good because his eyes stayed on Belle as she brought a stack of folders over and sat down in the chair at the end, right next to him.

She wasted no time in launching right into things. For all that she was trying to force him to eat, she was still focused on what was important, just like he was. "Like I told y', de last we knew, Remy was on a job in Seattle. It wasn't anything rough. Just a consultation, really. Y' remember Toby Baron, _oui_?"

The image of a tall, slender black man with a handsome face and an infectious laugh immediately sprang to mind. He'd been a friend of Remy's back in the day. A rich friend. Remy had done a job for him once, getting back some documents that had been taken from his father's office when Toby had been dumb enough to bring back a girl he'd picked up at a bar. She'd been good; Toby hadn't suspected her reasons for being there until he found the documents gone. Finding out that she'd slept with him solely to use it to gain access to steal those documents had pissed off the young man. Remy had found the documents and brought them back, for a price, before Toby's father ever knew. They'd stayed in contact after that, Toby hiring Remy on more than one occasion, and they'd maintained a friendship as well. "Of course I remember him."

"Well, he just put in a new hotel up in Seattle and he wanted Remy to do de security f' him. So Rem went up dere, ran de security, did his job. He stayed an extra day, just to visit. Y' know how he is."

"I do."

"I talked to Toby m'self. He says dat Remy stayed at de hotel itself. Insisted on it, actually, so he could get a better feel f' de place and f' what de security needed. Because he was dere to help plan out de security install, it means dere weren't any cameras in dere, so we don't have any footage of him. But Toby himself walked him out to de cab when he left, so we know he left de hotel. M' people verified it with de doorman dat was dere, too."

So, no footage of him at the hotel itself. Spencer munched on the biscuit that he'd picked up and furrowed his brows. From what he remembered of Toby, coupled with the easy way that Belle talked about him now, the man was someone they could trust. Still, "I hate to ask, but have you checked out Toby, just to be sure?"

The look Belle gave him would've quelled lesser men. It very clearly asked just how stupid he thought she was. "He checks out. We've been trying to locate de cab, but Toby didn't remember if dere was any name on it, so we don't really have much to go on dere."

Now that was something he could work with. Pushing the last of his biscuit in his mouth, Spencer wiped his hands off on a napkin and pushed away his plate, only half of the food gone. His mind was too focused on everything else, though. Food just wasn't that important and he hadn't been that hungry to begin with. "Do you have a computer?" He asked as soon as he'd swallowed his bite.

It looked for a moment like Belle was going to protest. However, she got up and moved across the room, grabbing a laptop off of the couch and bringing it back over. Spencer had already cleared a space on the table for it. She set the laptop down in front of him and he quickly opened it up and powered it on. It was fast, thankfully, and loaded up quickly. His fingers expertly moved over the keys as he set up a secure internet connection. Belle watched him with a hint of amusement. "What does y'r team think about having a hacker like y' on it?"

"They have no idea about the things I can do." Spencer said, eyes sliding across the screen. His connection was secure. Now that that was done, he got to work. "In fact, they seem to harbor the idea that I don't know how to work a computer at all."

"Y'r kidding me." Belle said incredulously.

Spencer shrugged one shoulder. "One of the conditions Gideon set when he recruited me was that I was to avoid using some of my less savory skills. This was one of them. I've kept up a bit at home, but at work I avoid pretty much anything electronic. When everyone started to make the assumptions that my refusal to use electronics meant that I didn't like them or know how, I found it easier to just let them believe."

"Dey never stopped to think about de fact dat y' had to use dem at school? Or dat y'r, y'know, a genius with an amazing memory and a head for numbers, which kind of makes y' perfect f' something like dis?"

"Nope."

"Wow." He heard her sit back in her chair with a soft thump. She was quiet for a moment before asking him "F' people who're supposed to be de best of de best in profiling, dey sure miss a lot, don't dey? Do dey know _anything_ about de deal y' made? About who y' used to be?"

Pausing with his fingers over the keys, Spencer stared at the screen in front of him. "No." he answered softly. "The Bureau thought it best if we kept it quiet and I agreed. They never would've trusted me if they'd known."

"So y've just been here, pretending to be someone y'r not, living a lie all dese years?"

"No." That brought his head up. He looked over at her, shaking his head. "I'm not living a cover here. This isn't just some persona I made up, a part I play for them. This is _me_. Just, not all of me. This is the same me I've always shown everyone else."

"Like I said, pretending to be someone y'r not. Even if it's a part of y', it's not all of y'. It's not who y' really are." Belle pointed out. "Y' f'get, Spencer, I know de real y'. I know who y' can be when y' stop pretending."

"How is that any different than how you live?" Spencer snapped defensively. "You don't exactly go around advertising who you are. Do you let everyone you meet know that you're an assassin? That you're actually head of the New Orleans Assassin's Guild? Of course not. You only show people a part of yourself because it's safer that way. But that doesn't make that part of you any less true. That's all I'm doing. I let them see me, just minus certain parts."

She shrugged at him, the casual gesture at odds with the hint of sharpness in here yes. "Whatever y' say, cher. Once a conman, always a conman, I guess."

The words stung just as they were meant to. Just because she understood why he left, maybe even approved of it, it didn't mean that she was entirely happy with it and she wasn't afraid to let him know that. Spencer pushed down the hurt and turned back to the computer. He was here to help find Remy. That was what was important. Let her think what she wanted. They both stayed quiet as he worked quickly, fingers flying with a speed and skill that would've impressed Penelope if she'd been able to see him. He'd learned his hacking skills a long time ago and he'd watched Penelope work over the years, silently observing and storing away new methods and practicing them only rarely and only outside of work. He was grateful for that practice now. After only a few quiet minutes, he had what he wanted. It hadn't taken much to look up Toby's new hotel. Getting into the footage of the traffic cam nearby wasn't all that difficult, either. "What was the exact date that he left Toby's hotel?"

"August 2nd." Belle answered promptly. "Toby said it was sometime around ten thirty, give or take a bit."

A moment later Spencer had the video up, close to the time. He went at ten and ran forward from there, just to make sure he didn't miss it. Eyes focused on the screen, he only vaguely felt as belle rose from her chair and came to stand beside him. One of her hands settled on the table at his side as she bent over his shoulder. She watched with him as he ran through the footage. A second later, Spencer was pausing it. "There!"

There it was. A cab, right at the curb of the hotel, with figures that were just clear enough for Spencer to recognize as Remy and someone who he was pretty sure was Toby. Belle confirmed it for him. "Dat's dem."

"The image of the cab isn't that clear." Spencer murmured. He skipped ahead, trying to see if he could get a better shot. There was one, just one, where he thought he might have a glimpse of a face through the windshield, and he could see the license plate. "There. I'll need to clean these up, see if maybe I can get the face. But let's run the plate, see what we come up with. I'm not sure we're going to get much, though."

"Y' think it's fake?" Belle asked.

Spencer chewed on his lip as he worked. "It makes the most sense. If he got into the cab but never made it to the airport, the only logical explanation is that something happened en route."

"Dat's what I figured, too. We just didn't have anything to go on."

"Well, it looks like we won't really have anything to go on here, either." Spencer said, staring at the search screen in front of him. "The plates belong to a stolen car that's definitely not our cab."

"What about de face?" Belle asked, straightening up. "Y' said y' could clean it up?"

"I'd need my own equipment." Turning, he looked up at her. "Yours is great, but it doesn't have the programs or the security I need. I need my laptop. I've got custom programming on there."

"I'll have someone go fetch it." She said immediately. It didn't surprise Spencer to find that she had people with her. She pulled out her phone and one quick phone call later, there were two people on their way to his apartment to grab not only his laptop, but a few other things he'd listed as well.

"Thanks." Spencer told her once she'd hung up. "It'll make things much easier if I have my equipment. I can take the image, clean it up, and then tomorrow I can have Garcia run it through her facial recognition program."

Belle's eyebrows shot up. "Y' want to involve y'r team?"

Quickly, Spencer shook his head. "Oh, no. No. But Garcia's used to me consulting with other people on cases and occasionally coming to her with a request. I prefer working with her to other technical analysts and she knows it. It won't be the first time I've asked her to look into something for me. She's the best, too. If we're lucky, she might have something for me by the end of the day. If we can identify the driver, we might be able to find a way to connect him to Remy somehow. It could give us a lead. While I do that, though, I need something from you."

"Anything."

"We can't just focus on the _where_ and the _how_." The only way he was going to get through this, the only way he'd be able to help Remy at all, was if he thought of this like it was any other case. And on any other case, he already would've done one very important step. Snagging a notebook and pen from his messenger bag, he presented them to Belle. "I need two lists from you. The first one is the name of anyone who had knowledge of where he was going and what he was doing on this trip."

She took the notebook and pen from him, nodding. "Easy enough. And de second?"

"Anyone who might have a grudge against him. Any enemies, anyone he screwed over that wants revenge—anyone who might do something like this."

"Dat's a hell of a list, cher." She pointed out.

"I figured as much. But someone on that second list is going to be our most likely suspect. We need to put it together and then start narrowing it down. By the time morning hits, I want to have a shortened list of names to look into. Serious potential suspects."

He pushed up from his chair and grabbed the laptop, bringing it with him to sit down on the couch. Once he was settled in the corner, laptop on his lap, he looked up at Belle who had settled down on the opposite end. "All right. Let's see how many names we can knock out by morning."

* * *

When morning finally rolled around, the two had worked their way through quite a few names. Belle had as complete a list as she could come up with in that time and they'd crossed off quite a few of the names on it. The list wasn't as extensive as Spencer had been afraid of. Still, there were a few names on there that weren't going to make things easy, and there were still quite a few left even after they'd managed to eliminate some. Belle kept the remainder of the list to look over while he was at work. He also had the cleaned up image printed and ready to take in to Penelope. Hopefully she'd be able to find something in it.

Spencer wanted nothing more than to stay at the hotel with Belle and continue to search for Remy. The panic that sat low in his gut never fully went away even if he did manage to push it down most of the time. But even Belle had agreed that he needed to keep up appearances for now. "We don't know who took him, Spencer, or what dey want." She'd pointed out. "I trust dat y' were safe and smart coming here and dat y' weren't seen. But y' and I both know I took a hell of a risk going to de Bureau. Whoever took Remy might be watching me. If dey are, right now dey'll only think dat I went to de Bureau, but dey won't know who I went to see. We don't need to have y' breaking routine and giving y'rself away. De last thing I want is to lead any of Remy's enemies to y'. Just, go to work, go about y'r day. If dey aint killed him by now, a few more days aint gonna hurt, either. We need to do dis smart."

The blunt words had made him flinch. They were true, though, and he knew it. It still didn't make it any easier to go to work and try to focus on other things.

Just as he'd expected, Penelope didn't find it strange at all when he brought the printed picture to her. "Helping someone out?" she asked, smiling at him.

He mustered up a smile back. "Something like that."

"Well, I'll get it to you as quickly as I can, sugar plum."

After that, it was just a matter of getting through the day, waiting impatiently through each passing minute. There was only so much research he could do while here at work. He couldn't suddenly start showing amazing computer skills and researching on his computer at his desk. He just had to get through his paperwork as best as possible and count down the time until he'd safely be able to leave. All the while, he had to make sure to keep his agitation as hidden as possible from a team of the best profilers.

He'd almost made it through the day when the one thing he'd been praying _wouldn't_ happen, _did_. He was just an hour from the end of the day when Aaron came out of his office and called out "Guys! Meeting room. We've got a case."

It took a lot of control for Spencer not to start to curse out loud. He joined the others up in the conference room and he listened as diligently as possible as Penelope laid out the case for them. A serial rapist, up to seventeen victims now, and with his first murder under his belt. It wasn't until the murder and the rape that had happened beforehand came out that women had started to come forward with their own stories of rape. From what they could see, the murder had most likely been an accident, but now that he had a taste for it, there was every likelihood he was going to kill again. The murder would give the Unsub a greater high than the rape ever could. They needed to catch this guy, quickly. There was no way Spencer could sit this case out. He just couldn't.

Once the briefing was done, while everyone was gathering their things to leave, Spencer stepped out of the bullpen and into the hall to quickly call Belle on the number she'd given him this morning. She answered after the first ring. " _Bonjour, Spencer. Y' on y'r way?_ "

Spencer didn't waste any time beating around the bush. "The team just got called out on a case." He said quickly, eyes darting back towards the bullpen doors, watching for the team. "I'm sorry, Belle. I've only got a moment here but I had to let you know. We're on our way to Idaho and I don't know how long it's going to take before we get back. But I still have my laptop on me, in my messenger bag. Send me any of the names you haven't looked up and I'll do what I can in my spare time."

 _"_ _Don't apologize, Spencer. I knew dere was a good chance y'd have to work. I hate asking y' to do two jobs like dis. I can work de names while y'r gone…"_

"I don't mind." He cut in quickly. "I've got Garcia running facial recognition on that picture, so if he's in the system we'll know soon enough. In the meantime, I can help with the names. Even if it's just a bit here and there."

 _"_ _I'll email dem out shortly, den. Dere's just four left dat are good possibilities. I can't account f' deir whereabouts during Remy's stay, or even much over de past few weeks, so it's gonna take some tricky looking."_

"I'll do what I can." Another look showed that the team was starting to make their way over. He needed to wrap this up. "I'll get to work on that as soon as I can and I'll call you once I'm back, okay?"

 _"_ _D'accord. Be careful, Spencer. Be safe. And don't work y'rself too hard. Remy wouldn't want y' getting killed just cause y' got distracted worrying about him."_

"Yeah, I know. I'll see you when I get back."

He was just hanging his phone up when the team came out the doors. Spencer joined them by the elevators and tried to ignore the curious looks he got. He needed to focus. The sooner they solved this case, the sooner he could get back home and back to work on finding Remy.

* * *

 _Merci for your reviews so far! :) Keep em up! Y'all really are great :)_


	4. Chapter 4

Working two cases at the same time wasn't an easy task. Spencer absolutely refused to give the team's case less than his best work; he wasn't going to let people suffer because of his inattention. During the day, he worked with the team, working as hard as ever. Harder, even, in his efforts to get the case done so he could get back home. At night, in the privacy of his hotel room, he set up the computer and went about trying to find information on the two names that Belle had sent him. He let his searches run while he was eating his dinner, or while he was taking care of nightly rituals, and late into the night. Belle was right—there was nothing that he was finding so far to account for their whereabouts during the time that Remy disappeared. However, one of the names on his list—Clive O'Hara—was showing up in quite a few ways in the weeks _after_ Remy disappeared. A few flights out of the country. One to Europe, one to Russia, both business trips as far as he could tell. But the other—Samuel Buchannan—seemed to have just disappeared completely.

It was on his third morning in Idaho that he found out what had happened to Samuel Buchannan and why no one could find him. He'd run a program on a hunch and set it up to send an alert to his phone. As he stood outside the hotel waiting for the team to come down so they could go, his phone went off, alerting him to the results. He stood there now staring at the file on the screen and cursing vehemently in Latin in his head. The reason that Samuel Buchannan hadn't showed up anywhere was because he was dead. Samuel Buchannan, aka Vincent Trump, had apparently died of a single gunshot to the head. His body had been found the day after Remy's disappearance in Vancouver, Washington, which was roughly a three hour drive from Seattle.

This wasn't a coincidence. The odds of him dying there, the day after Remy disappeared, and so very close to where Remy had vanished from, well, they were astronomical.

Samuel had been at the top of their list of suspects. He'd been close to becoming a Guild member, Belle had said, until five years ago when he'd deliberately gone against certain orders and rules on a job and had found himself banished by Remy's decree. According to Belle, he'd hated Remy since then and swore some kind of revenge.

Quickly, Spencer sent the file to Belle for her to look over. His mind was already racing with the implications of what this could mean. He didn't get long to think on it, though. The doors to the hotel opened and Aaron and Dave came out. Spencer just started to push away from the wall when Aaron broke away from Dave and started to make his way over.

Uh-oh. Spencer stayed where he was, worry gnawing at him as his boss came close. This couldn't be anything good. He tried to make his voice casual as he greeted the man. "Morning, Hotch."

"Morning, Reid." Aaron greeted him back. He stopped right in front of Spencer and his gaze was as sharp as always, running over him and taking in the details, most likely able to tell in just that one look that Spencer had barely slept the night before. Or any night, really, since Belle had showed up at the Bureau. When his eyes met Spencer's once more, the look in them held him in place. "Is there something going on that I need to be aware of, Reid?" He asked without preamble. They both knew they were on an important case and there wasn't really time to waste. Aaron had to be short and succinct. He also knew that Spencer preferred it over the roundabout, hinted questions. "You've been slightly distracted on this case. Is there anything that I need to know?"

There was only a slight hesitation before Spencer shook his head. In this instance, a bit of honesty was better than anything else he could say. "I'm sorry, sir. I just have some things on my mind. I'm doing my best not to let it interfere with the case, though."

"Your work is fine." Aaron reassured him. "I trust you to remove yourself if you aren't capable of doing your work. But if there's something going on, something you need to talk about, we can help you."

He meant it, too. Spencer knew that. All he'd have to do was ask them and each member of the team would help him in any way that they cold. But, it wasn't just for him that he kept quiet. It was for Remy. Having them look into Remy wouldn't be good. The last thing he needed was the Bureau turning too much attention to the young mutant that was, in Belle's words, starting to step up to take over the New Orleans Thieves Guild. Remy didn't need that kind of attention. He definitely didn't need it from the _FBI_.

Lying to the team had never been something _easy_ for Spencer. Doing it now to a man he considered both friend and an important authority figure in his life, it was almost impossible. Before Spencer could think things through, he found himself answering much differently than he'd intended. "Someone I know is…missing." Biting the inside of his cheek, he carefully pocketed his phone, looking down and away from his boss. "There's no sign of foul play that I can see. It's not unusual for him to vanish for a while but he usually lets someone know that he's going. I just, the woman who stopped by to see me, his ex-wife, she asked me to look into it. He's been gone a few weeks and she's really worrying. I'm not letting it interfere with my job though, Hotch. I won't let it stop me working the case."

"I told you, Reid, you're fine. A little distracted but it's not affecting your work that I can see." Aaron said. Behind him, the doors opened and the rest of the team came out, but none of them came over. They stayed by Dave, though they cast a few looks his way. Aaron didn't even turn around. He kept his eyes right on Spencer. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Some of Spencer's tension faded just a little and he offered the man a small half-smile. "No, sir. But thank you."

"All you need to do is ask, Reid."

"Thank you."

The two headed back over to join the others. Spencer found himself moving with a bit of a lighter step. Granted, he hadn't accepted his boss's help, and he was still in the same boat he'd been in before, but having that reminder that help was there if he needed it had soothed away some of the more raw edges. The honest caring that had been behind the offer helped, too. It gave him the small hope that maybe things wouldn't go too badly if the truth came out.

* * *

It was a full day later before the BAU team started to make their way back home. Their Unsub had been caught the night before, just before he would've had another victim, and the rest of the night had been spent making sure that they had everything in order, all loose ends tied together so there would be no doubt whatsoever when the case went to trial. By the time morning rolled around, they'd done everything they could and they packed their things, heading to the jet to go back home.

To avoid any questions, or any conversation at all, Spencer stretched himself out on one of the couches on the jet, using his scarf for a pillow, and closed his eyes. It was something he did far more often than the others probably realized. He'd perfected the art of pretending to be asleep. It gave him the quiet and freedom to let his mind work. There was plenty enough for him to think about, too. Inside of his mind, he went over everything he'd read in the file on Samuel. A single shot to the head with a .45 caliber bullet. Based on the ME's report, the person had to have been within a few feet of them when they shot him. His body had been left in the warehouse, found by a couple of junkies the next day, with completely empty pockets. There were no other signs of assault. Nothing to suggest he'd been dragged or taken there, that he'd been hurt in any way aside from the bullet.

A small thought had been niggling in the back of Spencer's mind since he found out about this and he let it grow now. Let it build.

What if Samuel had been in on Remy's kidnapping, only, he hadn't been alone? Maybe someone else had been working with him, or that person had hired him because they knew how much Samuel hated Remy, and they used him to get Remy and then killed him one they had what they wanted. It fit the scenario. They hadn't tried to cover up the body, though. If they had, they could've easily let Remy's disappearance be blamed on Samuel. If Spencer hadn't found out that Samuel was dead, he would've stayed one of the top suspects, especially with him having so completely vanished. With a ready-made scapegoat right there, why had this Unsub killed him? Why not let him take the fall and use him to hide his tracks? Unless…unless he _wanted_ them to know that it wasn't Samuel. But that would mean that he wanted them to know who he was. If he didn't want someone else taking the credit, the Unsub had to want the credit for themselves.

If that were the case, why weren't they leaving more clues? Why hide everything else so completely and yet leave _this_ open? It didn't make sense. Was the Unsub playing some sort of game? Trying to…what? Draw someone out?

Draw _him_ out?

That thought chilled Spencer's insides. No, it couldn't be right. No one knew about his connection to Remy. No one that would ever betray them. There had to be someone else. Some secret that Remy had, a person in his life that he kept hidden, that the Unsub was going for. But not Spencer. No one knew about him. He was safe.

No matter how many times he said it, he couldn't quite convince himself, though. The thought nagged at him. It stayed with him the entire flight home.

When the team finally landed, they headed to the Bureau first, enough time left in their day to complete the paperwork on this case. But Spencer had barely made it out of the elevator and halfway to the bullpen before Penelope was calling out his name. He turned to look down the hall and found her hurrying towards him, wearing that same bright smile she always wore when her 'babies' made it home safely. "Reid! Oh, good timing, sweetness. I was just getting ready to call you."

With everything going on lately, he couldn't help the immediate spike of worry. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything's fine!" She said quickly. Stopping in front of him, she held out a file folder towards him. "I finally got a hit on the skeevy cab guy you asked me to look at."

All his worries vanished and he eagerly reached out to take the folder from her. Even as he opened it to scan the contents, she was telling him what was inside.

"His name's Ettore Gianluca Silvano Deguti and he's forty seven years old. He moved over from Rome about four years ago and he's been sort of a gypsy since then. I found seventeen different residences for the past four years and I've got a feeling he has more. He's a pretty nasty looking guy, but there was no record on him, nothing to show he'd ever caused any sort of trouble."

"There wouldn't be." Spencer said lowly. He felt like he was speaking past lips gone numb. A sick feeling built low down in his stomach as he stared down at a face he knew—one he hadn't seen in twelve years.

Little things were starting to slide into place. Hints and clues that had been nagging at him about this whole thing. Now, it was starting to slide in, and it was starting to make far too much sense.

"Reid?"

Penelope's voice cut through the fear that had clouded his head. Drawing in a breath that wasn't near as steady as he wanted it to be, Spencer deliberately shut the file in his hand. "Thank you, Garcia. I really appreciate this." It was amazing just how steady his voice sounded. He didn't feel it; not at all. With deliberate movements, he put the folder into his messenger bag. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I need to go take care of this. Again, thank you for your help." Before she could get a chance to reply, Spencer was moving, not even bothering to wait for the elevator. He hit the stairs and hurried down them so quickly it was a wonder he didn't crash and fall.

It was even more of a wonder that he somehow managed to safely make his way from the Bureau to Belle's hotel.

He pounded on the door to her suite, not stopping until it was yanked open and he was face to face with a very annoyed looking Belle. He didn't give her the chance to gripe at him or throw out any threats. The minute the door opened and she was right there in front of him, he blurted out "I know who took Remy."

That cut off anything she'd been about to say. Her anger wiped away to a look of shock and faint hope. "What?" Recovering quickly, she opened the door wide and gestured him inside. "Get in, get in."

Spencer hurried inside, immediately moving to pace the living room. His mind was full of so much and his emotions were bouncing all over the place. There was no way he could be still. "I can't be absolutely positive, but everything fits. Really, there's no other option. I don't believe in coincidences. This is just the type of thing he'd do, too. Sneaky, underhanded, all carefully thought out and executed, all done like it was just some giant game." Blowing out a frustrated breath, he ran a hand through his hair. "I knew it didn't make sense that Samuel was left for someone to find. But of course—he didn't want anyone to take credit for his work. He wanted us to know. He wanted us to find out. I'm so _stupid!_ "

He might've kept rambling, making less and less sense, if Belle hadn't stepped right in front of him and stopped him in his tracks with a hard slap that snapped his head to the side. She grabbed his chin immediately afterwards, forcing him to look right into her icy blue eyes. "Spencer Reid, focus! _Who has our Remy?_ "

Drawing in a shaky breath, Spencer met her eyes and uttered a name he hadn't ever wanted to have to say or hear again. "Desi D'Amato."

Belle looked like she'd been slapped. Her hand fell off his chin and she just stood there, staring at him. " _Desi_?" She sounded completely stunned. "Are y' sure, Spencer?"

"As sure as I can be." Pausing, he ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from where it had fallen in his face again. He let out a shaky breath before he reached down into his messenger bag and pulled out the folder that Penelope had given him. He handed it over, watching as she opened it up. The picture of Ettore was right there on top. Belle wouldn't recognize him, he knew, but Spencer did. It was a face he wouldn't forget. "This is Ettore, Desi's right hand man. He was the one driving the cab that picked Remy up."

That had Belle's eyes snapping up to his once more. Then they darted back down, staring intently at the man's mug shot. "I can't believe we didn't think to put Desi on de list."

"It's been almost twelve years. Why would we have? I haven't heard anything from him since we left Rome and I doubt that Remy was in any form of contact with him."

The look on Belle's face changed, the rage fading into the softer edges of concern that so few got to see. The cool assassin had only two weaknesses in this world anymore since the loss of her family—Remy and Spencer. They were her only weaknesses, the easiest way to hurt her, but woe betide anyone who dared to threaten them. There were no measures she wouldn't take to protect them as she'd proved more than once in their past. Only Remy's calming hand had stayed her from more drastic measures on occasion. There was no Remy here to calm her now, though. Her eyes, when they lifted to Spencer's once more, were full of the cold promise of retribution against the one who had dared to mess with what she considered precious. "We'll bring him home." The promise was delivered in a voice as cool and hard as steel.

"We will." Spencer agreed. He had to believe it.

She closed the folder in her hands, tapping a finger against it in thought. "We need to put y' under protection. All of dis, it's f' y'. A way to draw y' out. Remy hid y' too well." Already she was moving, heading over to toss the folder down on the table and pick up the cell phone that sat there. "We'll get a few guards together, take y' over to pack a bag and den we need to book a flight back home. Y'll be safer back at home where I can protect y' proper."

Spencer cut in before she could get any further. "Belle. Belle!" He waited until she looked up from her phone and then he met her gaze unflinchingly, knowing that he was going to have to be extremely firm here or she would just run right over him. "I'm not going anywhere, Belle. I have a job here, a life, and I won't just walk away from it. I can't."

"He's doing all dis f' y', Spencer! All of dis, it's to draw y' out. Hell, de fucker probably watched me and let me lead him right to y'!" she shot back.

"I'm a _Federal Agent_ , Belle." Spencer reminded her. "I can't just up and disappear. You know that and I'm sure that, if Desi's found me, he knows that now, too. He'll know I can't just disappear without someone noticing. If I just run off, my team will scour the country looking for me, and you can be sure they'll start with this file I had Garcia look into. What's more, they'll look into _you_. Morgan and Prentiss saw you that day and they'll tie in the appearance of a random person visiting me and my own disappearance not much later and tie the two together and then they'll start looking into you. Is that what you want?"

What she said next was the very last thing that Spencer had ever expected her to say. "Den y' need to tell dem de truth."

Stunned, he could only stare at her for a long moment, not quite able to form words. Tell them? She wanted him to _tell them_? "I…what? _What_?"

Moving towards him, she used the phone she still held to point at him. "Y' heard me, Spencer Reid. If we're gonna keep y' safe and y'r refusing to run with me, den y' need to tell y'r team what de hell's going on so dey can keep y' safe, too."

"I can't tell them, Belle!"

"Y' aren't gonna have a choice!" She snapped. Stopping in front of him, she jabbed his chest with her phone. "Desi isn't de type to play around, Spencer. Y' know dat. He's not some petty t'ief with a grudge. De man had money and connections back den. Can y' imagine what he'll have now? He was a ruthless, manipulative _connard_. De only thing dat protected y' back den was Remy's name. If dat isn't enough to scare him off anymore…" She let that thought trail off, the both of them understanding what it meant. "We need de help. M' people could keep y' safe, _mais_ if y' won't go wit' us, den we need y'r team's help to keep y' safe when y'r away from me."

"But why does that mean they need to know my past?" He pleaded.

"So, what're y' planning on telling dem den, huh? More lies?"

"Not lies." Spencer protested immediately. "Just, not everything. All I need to do is tell them that Remy is someone I knew back when I was in college. They don't need to know anything more than that. He's my friend and he's missing."

"We both know he's more dan y'r _ami_." She said snidely. The look on her face turned nastier, a look she hadn't ever turned his direction before. "Maybe dey were right."

That had Spencer going still. "What are you talking about?"

"Some people said y' were ashamed of us. Dat dat's why y' left de way y' did. Why y've left Remy alone all dese years."

"I'm not ashamed of you!" He insisted. How could she think that? He'd never once been ashamed of any of them!

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, sure, Spencer. Dat's why y'r so damn willing to hide keep from telling y'r team de truth."

"You know why I left, Belle. You know why I kept my secrets."

"Back den, _oui_. Now? Now I'm not so sure. Y' say dese people are y'r _amis_. Y' say y' trust dem wit' y'r life. So why can't y' trust dem wit' y'r past? It's not like y'd be telling de whole Bureau—just dem." She ran her eyes over him and curled her lip as if what she found disgusted her. When her eyes locked on his again, they were hard and cold. "Maybe I was wrong about y' all dese years. Y' don't give a damn about Remy. Not when it puts y'r precious reputation on de line."

Spencer was moving before he'd even fully thought about it. He wasn't thinking about what he was doing, or who he was doing it to. His fury led him as he caught Belle by her shirt front and slammed her up against the wall. He leaned in close until they were almost nose to nose and he snarled lowly at her. "You watch your mouth. My entire cover could _burn_ if it meant bringing him home. Don't you dare stand there and try to tell me I don't give a damn about him. Everything I did was to keep him safe and you damn well know it."

Much to his surprise, the coldness melted from her gaze and she flashed him a razor sharp grin that held a hint of what looked like pride. She didn't fight his hold at all. She stayed where she was and grinned at him. "About damn time." She said, surprising him even more. "I was beginning to think de Bureau had chopped y'r balls off. Nice to see dey're still dere."

Snorting, Spencer let go of her. "You've got a hell of a way with words."

Softening just slightly, she lifted her empty hand and put her palm flat over his heart. "Y' know better dan anyone just how ruthless he can be, cher. He won't let anyone or anything get in his way. Are y' really going to put y'r team at risk just to protect y'r secrets?"

"Not just mine." Spencer said softly.

A corner of her mouth quirked up. "I can look after m'self, cher. An Remy's worked hard dese past years to make sure dere's nothing dat can be connected to dis name. We can handle de scrutiny. Remy'd be willing to risk it to keep y' safe, y' know dat. An so am I."

She was right about one thing. Desi wouldn't let anyone stand in his way. He would come after Spencer, no matter who he had to take out to do it. There was no way Spencer could put his team at risk without even letting them know that they were at risk to begin with. He couldn't keep this from them. But the thought of telling them the truth, of revealing the parts of himself that he'd kept secret for so long, it terrified him. What if they didn't accept him? What if, once they found out about who he'd been, the things he'd done, they wanted nothing to do with him? He didn't know if he could take that. These people had come to mean so much to him over the years. Losing them would break him in ways he didn't want to think about.

He didn't have a choice, though. To keep them safe, he had to do this.

Why was it that all the horrible decisions he had to make in his life were always made to protect someone else?

Sighing, Spencer closed his eyes, taking a moment to gather himself. Only when he had control of his emotions again did he let his eyes open once more. When they met Belle's, they were calm, controlled, his mask firmly in place. "Okay."

The way she smiled at him broke his heart a little. She understood what he was risking here. HE was just grateful that she knew better than to comment on it. "Okay." She echoed. "Let's go swing by y'r place, pack y' up a bag, and den we'll give y'r team a call."

Surprise had his eyebrows going up. "You're coming with me?"

Smiling, Belle pushed up on her toes just enough to be able to give him a quick kiss. "Y' think I'd make y' do dis alone?" Dropping back down, she slid her arm through his, wrapping it around his waist. "C'mon, cher, let's go."

* * *

They were halfway to Spencer's place before he noticed something was wrong.

Clenching his hands down on the wheel, Spencer looked in the rearview mirror, seeing the same car that had been steadily getting closer since they left the hotel. "Belle…"

She was already sitting up a little straighter and pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I see it."

The car behind them accelerated and Spencer swore loudly. "Hang on!" he shouted. There wasn't enough time to do anything to prepare before the car struck them from behind and the air filled with the sound of metal scraping metal. The first impact jolted them forward, the car lurching wildly, and Spencer fought to get them back under control and keep them on the road. The next impact hit and there was nothing Spencer could do to stop it as the car ran off the road and straight into the trees. The last thing he heard was the sound of metal scraping metal and Belle's loud curses before there was a great crash and the world went dark.


	5. Chapter 5

Hospitals were one of Spencer's least favorite places to be. He'd never liked being in a place where so many people felt they had the right to simply put their hands on him without warning or permission. Granted, they were doing it to help him, to heal him, but it didn't matter. Spencer had never really liked being touched by strangers and hospitals were full of that. They also held very few positive memories. What was the absolute worst, though, the hardest thing for him to deal with, was all the waiting. Waiting that was done without any news whatsoever. Waiting to find out if a person was okay. Waiting to know if they were even alive. Just, waiting.

That was the boat that Spencer found himself in now. He'd woken up in the back of an ambulance, strapped down to a gurney, where he was told that he'd been in a car crash and was being rushed to the hospital. That had brought it all back for Spencer, the whole racing from the car following them, being run off the road, crashing into a tree. All of it. With that knowledge had come the first wave of panic. Obviously, help had come, and whoever had run them off the road hadn't taken him, otherwise he would've woken up somewhere other than the back of an ambulance, but Belle was nowhere in sight. Had she been taken? Was she hurt?

Part of that was answered pretty quickly. At his frantic demands, he was assured that the woman with him was being taken in another ambulance. Apparently, someone had seen their wreck and called it in for them. But the paramedics wouldn't tell him anything more. They wouldn't tell him how badly Belle was hurt, if she was okay, _nothing_. No one would tell him a damn thing.

It wasn't until the doctor had promised to personally go check on her once they were done that Spencer submitted to any kind of treatment. He let them scan his head to make sure there was no damage from where he'd hit, let them stitch up the small gash in his forehead, sat still for them to clean the various cuts from the broken glass, and he even contained himself long enough for them to check the bruising on his chest and ribs from the steering wheel. But by the time they were done he'd reached the end of his patience. "I want to see Belle. I need to know if she's all right."

"Let me go and see if anyone has any word on her." The doctor offered.

Spencer watched the man go with open suspicion. Yeah, why did he have the feeling that the doctor was going to do no such thing? Hospitals were always the same. If he wanted to find out anything, he was going to have to find it out for himself.

He was off the table and searching for some kind of shirt—his own was torn and bloodstained—when the door to his room opened and the very woman he'd been about to go see came strolling in like she owned the place. One look at her and Spencer breathed a sigh of relief. There were a few cuts on her arms and faces that he could see, probably from the broken glass, but otherwise she looked to be moving just fine, no hints of anything serious. Then again, the Belle he'd known had had a high pain tolerance all those years ago. No telling how high it was now. Still, if she was here and moving under her own steam, it couldn't be that bad. His shoulders slumped slightly in relief.

She, on the other hand, immediately looked even more concerned and pissed off than she had when she first came in. Icy eyes raked over him, taking in everything on one swoop. "Spencer Reid, what do y' think y'r doing? Get y'r ass up dere on de bed, right dis instant! Are y' insane?" She marched forward and caught hold of his arm. She wasn't exactly gentle as she steered him towards the bed.

"I was coming to find you." He told her, trying and failing to pull his arm free from her hold. "No one would tell me what was going on with you. I had no idea if you were even conscious or not."

She scoffed, shooting him a look that said just how stupid she found that sentence. With firm hands, she pushed him down to sit back on the bed once more. "I'm fine, cher. It takes more dan a little wreck like dat to get me. I get worse cuts and bruises dan dis in a training session. My worry was y'. Y' hit dat head of y'rs pretty damn hard."

There was no point in trying to stop her as she started to examine the damage. Spencer sat underneath her touch and resisted the urge to roll his eyes or to curl in self-consciously as he realized he was still shirtless. One of his arms curled protectively around the bruises at his waist and covered him up just the slightest bit. "I'm fine. They tested and scanned me and determined that there was no serious damage. Just a simple concussion and some stitches."

"Y' got lucky."

"What happened back there? I don't remember anything once we hit."

"It was a bump-and-grab." Belle said bluntly. She stepped back, looking him over with a critical eye while she continued to speak far more calmly than most people would if they'd just survived a car crash and apparently a failed kidnapping attempt. "Dey tried to come up and take y' once we hit, but I had m' gun and m' people weren't all dat far behind. I've had dem sticking close to y' since we got to town, and it's a damn good thing, too." Apparently satisfied with whatever she saw, she gave a firm nod of her head and turned to head towards the door, still talking. "I think it's pretty safe to say dis was Desi's work. We have to assume he knows where y' are now, Spencer."

"Yeah." He'd been thinking the same thing. It was too convenient that he discovered who was after him tonight and then suddenly he's being followed and someone tried to crash his car. He didn't believe in coincidences. _God_ , this was getting so messed up, so quickly. It felt like it was all happening so fast and he was just scrambling to try and keep up.

Spencer watched as Belle opened the door and leaned out to speak with whoever was out there. Not even a full minute later she was leaning back in. To his surprise, she had what looked to be a short sleeved shirt in her hand. It was a dark green button up. She brought it over to him and smiled a little when she saw his confused look. "I doubt y' want to be running around without a shirt. Dis belongs to one of m' guards out dere. Anthony had it on over a regular t-shirt." Her smile grew just the slightest bit when his confused look turned first to a grimace and then to resignation. "Beggars can't be choosers, cher. I know y' aint exactly fond of wearing a stranger's clothes, but I figured y'd prefer it over de alternative."

She was right about that. As uncomfortable an idea as it was to have to wear a stranger's clothes, it was preferable to going around without any shirt on at all. He was too self-conscious for something like that. Reluctantly, he allowed her to help him get it on. She was halfway through doing up the buttons, against his vocal protests, when the door to his room opened once more. Spencer looked up and stared over Belle's shoulder in surprise when none other than Derek Morgan came in, with Aaron right on his heels. "Morgan? Hotch?" Why were they here? It took a second for his brain to make the connections. Derek was his emergency contact, so of course he'd been called, and if there had been police at the scene it made sense that, once they ran Spencer's name, they called in his boss.

"Reid!" Derek moved forward quickly, almost darting over to his bedside. His eyes were already racing over Spencer. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine…" Spencer tried to say.

Belle cut him off, her fingers moving nimbly over the last two buttons. "He's got a concussion, a few stitches, some random bruises and bruised ribs."

Oh, that was so helpful. Spencer scowled at her and swatted her hands away. "As I said, I'm _fine_."

It was easy to see just how little effect his words had on his friends. They were still looking at him with concern, only it was now sharpened by the bright edge of something else, something that told him that they were watching him carefully, observing him with Belle and everything that they did. It was the risk you ran when spending time with profilers. They read into everything. "What happened here, Reid?" Aaron asked him.

For a brief moment it was tempting to tell Aaron that this had been nothing more than an unfortunate accident. If he was careful, he could sell it. But one look at Belle's face told him that she wasn't going to let him get away with that. Spencer had to resist sighing. He had been on his way to gather some things and then they were going to call in the team anyways. This didn't really change that. If anything, it kind of reinforced the whole reason they were doing it. Gathering his courage, Spencer squared his shoulders and looked at his friends. "This isn't a talk I want to have here. Can we gather everyone together?"

"Somewhere other dan de Bureau." Belle added in.

Spencer nodded his agreement. That was probably wise. He could see Aaron's eyes get a little guarded at that request and he turned to appeal directly to his boss. "Please, Hotch. I'll explain everything, I promise, once we're all somewhere safe."

There was a moment of quiet. Finally, Aaron nodded. "All right, Reid."

"We can use my place." Derek offered. "I'll call everyone, get them over there, while you take care of your paperwork."

"Good." Yeah, great. Spencer felt Belle's hand slip into his and he was grateful for her touch right then. He had a feeling this wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

Thirty minutes later the members of the BAU team, plus Belle, were gathered in Derek's living room. Everyone else had beat them there. One of them must've had a key for them to be waiting inside instead of outside. As expected, there were more than a few shocked exclamations when they caught sight of Spencer's face and the careful way that he moved. No one came up for the hugs that they usually might've, though. Penelope for sure would typically have come up and hugged and fawned over him for any kind of injury. But none of them did. Spencer wondered absently if it had something to do with the woman at his side. Belle was definitely in a protective mode. There was an air of readiness and danger about her that the agents probably recognized. It didn't help that her eyes had once more gone as cold and sharp as ice. Very few people got them to thaw.

With one hand under his elbow, Belle helped Spencer to sit down on the loveseat. Then she folded herself down on the armrest beside him and crossed one long leg over the other, looking for all the world like a cool queen presiding over her subjects despite the slightly tattered clothes and various cuts that were visible. He had a feeling she could've pulled that queenly look off even if she'd been covered in dirt and wrapped in burlap.

Looking around the room at the faces of the men and women he had come to not only respect but care for deeply Spencer gathered himself. Discussing his past with these people was not something he had ever imagined doing, and he was sorely unprepared. Yet they were all looking at him now so expectantly, and with open worry, and there was no more putting this off. He couldn't. Not that Belle would let him, anyways.

He didn't have to start things. Derek did that for him. "All right, Reid. We're all here. I think it's time to start explaining things. Not just tonight, either. There's been something strange going on with you for days—ever since she showed up." He gestured with one hand towards Belle, who smirked back at him.

Spencer lifted a hand and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to involve you guys in any of this."

"We're a team, vanilla bean, and we're your friends." Penelope said gently. "Whatever's going on, we're here for you."

"It's a bit of a long story." Spencer warned. That was a vast understatement. Beside him, Belle let out a low snort that told him she was thinking the same thing. He shot her a glare, which she met with a smile. When he turned back, he was getting more than a few curious looks for that little bit of byplay between him and Belle and he was reminded that no one had really been properly introduced to her. Only Derek and Emily had heard anything about her at all. That was on place to start, even if it wasn't the beginning. But maybe it would be best if he explained a few current things before he delved back into the past. "This is Bella Donna, a woman I knew back when I was in college. I guess, in a sense, that's where some of this started. Well, no, it starts before that." He blew out a breath and slumped a little in his seat. He was stammering and he knew it. "I'm sorry. I'm not making any sense. I just, I don't know where to start this. I've pictured this conversation a thousand times and now that I'm here, I have no idea how to start this."

"I always find it's easiest to start at the beginning." Dave said dryly.

Spencer looked up with wry smile twisting his lips. "That's kind of difficult. There are a few different beginnings here. But I guess, well," _Here we go_. "Do you guys know anything about how Gideon recruited me to the Bureau?"

That obviously wasn't the direction they'd expected this conversation to go. It took just a second for their surprise to melt away enough for them to actually think and formulate answers. Derek, who was sitting on the couch with Emily and Penelope, leaned forward to better look at him and rested his elbows on his knees. "He met you at your college, didn't he? You told me it was at a lecture or something that caught your interest."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Spencer gave his friends a sheepish sort of look. He felt Belle's fingers lightly brush over his arm and was grateful for the support. Time to start letting out the secrets he'd held so close for so long. "Yes, well, a lecture of his _did_ catch my interest, but that was a full year before Gideon recruited me. When we finally met and spoke face to face, it was in an interrogation room. I was under arrest for grand theft."

Boy that sure got their attention. Spencer swore he could actually _feel_ their stares intensify. Unconsciously, he leaned in to Belle just the slightest bit, his arm pressing up against her hip. Being around her seemed to be bringing out more and more of the old Spencer without him even realizing it. Old mannerisms were slipping back in. But the mask that slid over his features, keeping his expression calm, was something he'd used far too often over the years. He'd learned it at a young age and it had come in handy many times since then to hide what he was really feeling or thinking.

"Grand theft?" Emily finally said, breaking the silence. " _You_? I didn't know you had anything like that on your record."

"That's because I don't." Spencer told her. One corner of his mouth quirked up ever so slightly. "It was one of the conditions of me being hired. My past was wiped—completely."

"They made you a deal." Aaron said slowly. There was a brief second where Spencer saw his eyes flash over towards Penelope, a telling look that was rather surprising from a profiler who usually kept such iron control of his features, and then those sharp eyes settled on the genius once more. The look he was giving Spencer was contemplative. "It's standard procedure in situations like these. All charges are dropped, records wiped clean, so long as the person signs the contract."

"A get out of jail free card, courtesy of de US government." Belle quipped in a voice heavy with sarcasm.

Spencer shrugged one shoulder, trying not to let them see how nervous this whole conversation was making him. "The Bureau was willing to do a lot to have my mind on their payroll. Gideon told me later that it wasn't that hard for him to convince them that they should recruit me before someone else did." His eyes darted up to Belle who was watching him now with a tiny little smirk touching her lips. There was a fond sort of pride written there. Reaching over, she tucked a bit of hair behind his ear, lightly brushing her fingers over his cheek as she did. "I always told y', y' have an amazing mind, Spencer. Dey were probably terrified it'd fall into de wrong hands. If someone managed to corrupt y', I think y'd be even more dangerous dan Essex."

"Bite your tongue." He shot back.

She let out a low, husky laugh and tugged on a bit of his hair before letting go.

"Excuse me," Derek interrupted them, bringing all eyes back over to him. "I'm still having a hell of a time wrapping my brain around this. You had a record? _You_?"

Shaking his head, Spencer brought his focus back to the conversation. "Actually, no. I had no record at all except for the charges I was in there for. It was a first offense, which helped Gideon clear it up even easier."

"He was too smart to get caught." Belle said, sounding offended at even the suggestion that Spencer might have a record. Rolling his eyes, amused at her antics, Spencer ignored her and continued on as if she hadn't said anything. "Either way, Gideon was smart, and he had the ability to start piecing some things together, things that I was pretty sure wouldn't pan out but that I couldn't risk. So when he told me could make my current charges go away and make sure that no one would be looking any deeper into other things, and all I had to do was agree to a few conditions and sign on the dotted line, I did it."

"Conditions?" Emily asked.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Spencer who answered, but Penelope. "Yeah. You know, things like no contact with the old crowd, no using your less than legal skills."

Well, well, well. Spencer had always wondered a bit about Penelope's skills and how someone like her had come to work at the Bureau. He was pretty sure he understood now. When her eyes caught his, the look there and the bright smile she gave him only confirmed it. Interesting. He felt his own smile ghost over his lips. Apparently he had more in common with the vivacious woman than he'd thought he did. It would explain why, out of them all, she looked the _least_ surprised by what Spencer was saying. In fact, she actually looked the most put together. Her and Dave. Emily looked surprised and curious, Aaron was shuttered, which was a sign on its own that he was feeling something other than calm, and Derek looked like he was trying to put together the image that Spencer's words painted with the image of the man he'd thought he'd known and was failing miserably at it. But Dave and Penelope, they both had curiosity and a bit of their earlier worry, but nothing more.

"Interesting as all this is." Dave interrupted them. "How does this connect to what happened to you tonight? Aaron said you'd been in a car wreck."

"I'm getting there. You need to understand the backstory first for the rest of it to make sense." Spencer told them. "I know this seems like it's taking a while, but to understand where things are now, you really need to know how we got here. And, for now, we're secure here, right?" He didn't look to his boss for that one, but up to Belle, who nodded. "It's secure, cher. Y' got time."

"Okay." Now it was time for him to finally come out and tell his story. For the first time since Remy, he was going to open himself up and show a part of himself that no one ever really got to see. But these people, they were more than just friends. They'd become like family to him. It was only right that they got more than the condensed version of things. They knew enough about him to put some of it together anyways. Best to just lay it all right out there.

Squaring his shoulders, he took a breath and delved back into the past he didn't ever talk about. "You guys know that Dad walked out the door when I was ten. I don't really talk about it, but all of you know it. I don't really hide it anymore, now that I'm an adult. But whenever people find out, no one seems to stop and think how we supported ourselves once he was gone. Mom, she wasn't up to working. That was part of the reason Dad left. She could barely tell what day of the week it was most of the time, let alone attempt to hold down a steady job. She didn't work and Dad wasn't sending us any money. We had to pay the bills somehow." Holding up a hand, he ticked off the bills that they'd had. "Rent, utilities, phone, garbage, groceries, insurance premiums, doctor's visits, Mom's medications—insurance only covered part of those and, trust me, the rest wasn't cheap. I had to do something to help us cover those. Our savings only lasted so long and I wasn't legal to get a proper job. So, I started out small, trying to get odd jobs here and there, help out around the neighborhood."

"Only, odd jobs wouldn't be enough to cover all that." Emily supplied softly.

No kidding. They'd barely covered _anything._ Spencer nodded and sighed. "Yeah. So I had to turn to a bit more, unconventional methods to bring money home. I picked my first pocket just before my eleventh birthday. By the time I was twelve, I was pretty good at it. Just a little sleight of hand, you know? Vegas is full of kids like that. I was just another face in the crowd. I had my own cons I ran on tourists, too. And I'd sold off random things in the house when money got a bit too tight. Getting accepted into Caltech was a bit of a Godsend for me, actually."

"What do you mean?" Derek asked, staring at him like he'd never seen him before. "Wouldn't that make it worse? I mean, scholarships don't cover all bills."

He conceded that point with a low nod. "Very true. They don't. In fact, I had more bills than before. But I was in a new area, with all new marks, a greater populace with which to work, and public transportation to take me to various areas so I never worked one spot too much. It helped me to avoid making people suspicious. I was able to work far more often than back home and I drew in more cash, too. An afternoon spent at the mall could have me walking away with quite a pocket of money."

"It's quite a jump from pickpocket to grand theft." Dave pointed out.

"I caught the attention of some kids on the streets with what I was doing. I was pretty lucky, really. Instead of a beating and threats, they offered me a job."

"Street kids are notoriously territorial." Belle supplied helpfully. "Dey don't take lightly to people working in deir territory. Pit always had an eye f' talent, though. He probably saw Spencer's natural talent and thought he hit de jackpot."

"He taught me a little, helped improve some things, and got me to work with him with the promise of money and protection. He made it very clear how lucky I was that I hadn't been killed or beaten almost to death for infringing on the territory of others." Spencer could remember just how lucky he'd felt. How utterly terrified he'd been that he was really going to die in that moment, right up until Pit had offered him protection—for a price.

The way that Derek was looking at him now, understanding mixed with some sympathy, reminded Spencer that this man had grown up in a gang town, had worked on a gang task force, and he knew how this whole system worked. He understood how a person could be so far down that the gang was really their only option. He knew how the gang dynamic worked; how it brought people in, made them feel safe, like this was the only place they could be safe. "He made you feel like he was your only safe option." Derek said.

Smiling ruefully, Spencer nodded. "Exactly. Only, he wasn't always safe and he wasn't always smart. Within six months, I was planning things for the most part because we came too close to getting killed one too many times. Pit…didn't exactly like that. He didn't like that a fifteen year old had more loyalty from his people than he did. So, he hired a group of guys and had them jump me one night when I was alone. If it wasn't for Remy and Belle," He gestured over towards her, bolstered slightly at the warm look she gave him. "I would've died that night. They saved my life, took me back to Belle's motel, got me cleaned up. The next day, they pried my story out of me."

"He was too sweet, too innocent." Belle said. Though the others might not have recognized it in her cool expression, Spencer could see the fondness in her gaze. The sweet woman underneath the ice queen. "We couldn't just let him go. Not when we knew Pit would try again. So, Remy took Spencer under his wing, let it be known in de underground dat he'd taken on a sort of apprentice, an den he taught Spencer everything he knew. Dey worked together right up until de day Spencer left."

"Remy and I were extremely close. And it's because of me that he's in trouble right now." Spencer said softly.

A solid punch to his shoulder had him cutting off and sucking in a sharp breath. He met Belle glare for glare, not at all cowered by her punch or the temper in her eyes. "Shut y'r mouth, Spencer Reid." She scolded him sharply. "It isn't y'r fault and he'd kick y'r ass if he heard y' say it was. Dis is no one's fault but Desi's, do y' hear me?"

"He's doing this because of me, Belle. You and I both know it." Spencer said flatly.

Her scowl deepened. "I don't care. Y' didn't do anything and y' know it. De blame f' all of dis rests on Desi's shoulders, not y'rs."

"Reid."

Aaron's serious tone cut into their argument and silenced Spencer quick than a shout. He sighed and brushed his hair back out of his face once more. Arguing with Belle about this could come later, fruitless though it may be. Right now he needed to finish telling the others everything. He'd caught them up on his past. Now it was time to explain how it connected to his future. "Right. Sorry, guys. Okay, here's where everything starts to come together. When I was eighteen years old, I met someone by the name of Desi D'Amato while I was on a job. He took an almost instant liking to me."

Belle gave an unladylike snort at that. "Y' always downplay dis." She scolded him. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she drew him back a little so that he was resting more against the back of the loveseat, and she fixed her eyes on the team. "Let me lay it out f' y', or y' won't ever get de whole story. Least, not de right way. Spencer and Remy were working a job in Rome when dey met Desi at a rather large art showing. He almost immediately took to Spencer, despite how obvious Spencer made his disinterest. Desi wouldn't let it go. He pursued Spencer relentlessly. But Desi was a rich man, an important man, so dere wasn't much either one of dem could do. Finally, things got bad enough dat Remy actually bailed on de job just to get Spencer out of de country. He's kept Spencer hidden from Desi ever since."

"He didn't know us by our actual names." Spencer told them, able to see the questions on more than a few faces. "So when we got back to the states, it wasn't hard to keep me out of view. The person I played over there was nothing like who I am. When I got back home, I put Desi out of my mind and forgot all about him."

"Den, almost four weeks ago now, Remy went missing." Belle said.

Spencer reached out and laid a hand on her leg, a silent support. "Belle exhausted every other option before she came to me. We had no idea who was behind Remy's disappearance until I saw that picture I had you run for me, Garcia. I didn't recognize Ettore at first, he's changed in the past twelve years, but as soon as you said his name, I knew. He's Desi's right hand man. And he was driving the cab that Remy got into—the last time he was seen by anyone. I know that Desi has him. And now, he knows where I am."

"He was de one dat hit us tonight, in de car." Temper flashed over Belle's face. Not only had someone struck out at her, they'd struck out at Spencer, and that wasn't something she'd take lightly. "It was a bump and grab, only he hadn't counted on me having people to watch over us. Dey came up b'fore his men could get us. But now dat he knows Spencer's name and where he is, he won't stop coming f' him. He's had twelve years f' dis to build up. He won't quit till he has him."

"I didn't want to get into this at the Bureau." Spencer said softly. "If they find out that I'm having any contact with people in my old life…"

"It wouldn't go over well." Aaron finished for him.

Dave chuckled. "That's putting it mildly."

"How do we help, then?" Emily asked, looking around the room. "If we can't let the Bureau know what we're doing, how on earth are we supposed to help?"

"She's got a point." It was Derek this time, and it didn't escape Spencer's notice that the man was very clearly _not_ looking at him. "We've got one criminal kidnapped by an even bigger criminal, who is apparently obsessed with Reid and isn't afraid to do just about anything to get him. What do we do here?"

"For now, we sleep on it." Aaron said. "It's late, it's been a long night, and we're all fresh back from a case. I want everyone to go home and get some sleep and tomorrow we'll meet up at the office and we'll treat this like any other case. Morgan, I want Reid and his friend to stay here with you tonight, if that's fine. I don't want anyone alone until we catch this guy."

"I'll head home with PG." Emily offered, smiling over at her friend who smiled right back at her.

Aaron nodded his agreement. "Good. You two head out, then, and Prentiss? Keep your gun on you at all times. The Unsub's proved he's not above using leverage. Let's not give him anymore."

Pushing up off the couch, Derek still avoided looking at Spencer, but he gestured with one hand for him and Belle to follow. "Come on, you two. I'll show you where you can sleep."

Spencer chewed nervously on the inside of his cheek as he let Belle help him up to his feet. This whole conversation had gone better than he planned, at least with most of them, but he wasn't looking forward to his talk with Derek once the others were gone. They might be hurt, he knew, but Derek was his best friend, and finding out his best friend had been lying to him from the get go wasn't going to be easy for him to get past. Truth was extremely important to Derek.

After a few brief hugs and some quiet reassurances, Spencer set off with Belle to go find their room and hopefully, maybe, get a few things settled with Derek.


	6. Chapter 6

_Please understand that I have no knowledge of any families in Rome, nor of anyone under the name D'Amato, and any history I present is entirely made up by me. Desi D'Amato is not a real person, nor is any member of his family. Merci_

* * *

Spencer curled his hands around his coffee mug and tried not to grit his teeth. Though he'd only been up for half an hour, he was more than ready to turn around and crawl back into bed. He'd had a horrible day yesterday, which hadn't gotten any better once the BAU team had left. Derek hadn't at all been open to talking. Once he'd showed Spencer and Belle the guest room and his office, offering the couch in his office, he'd turned and shut himself in his room. Belle, of course, wasn't going to let Spencer sleep on any couch, especially not after having been in a car wreck. So, despite his embarrassment, the two had shared the queen sized bed in the guest room. Not that Spencer had been able to sleep much. He'd stayed up most of the night wondering and worrying and thinking. This morning, he wasn't any closer to figuring things out than he'd been before, just a hell of a lot more tired. His shower hadn't helped to wake him up, though it _had_ brought back his headache and reminded him just how sore bruised ribs are the second day around.

When he came out to the kitchen, Derek was nowhere in sight, and Clooney was gone. A note on the table said that he'd gone for a quick run. Part of Spencer grumbled a little at that. Was Derek so pissed off at him that he really didn't care about leaving the house unprotected? Or, at least, unprotected in _his_ eyes. Derek didn't know about Belle's abilities or about the people she would have watching the place.

It wasn't that Spencer couldn't take care of himself. But they were supposed to be going off alone right now. He shouldn't be out running alone, even with Clooney for company. At the very least he should've woken Spencer up to let him know that he'd be gone. But _no_. Pissed off and not thinking clearly, the idiot had gone out for a morning run. Spencer just hoped he remembered to bring his gun. At the moment, Spencer's gun was tucked into the back of the sweats that he had on. Sweats that were in the bag Belle had given him after stepping out to meet with her people last night. He didn't even bother to worry about the fact that this meant that someone had gone into his home and gone through his stuff. Belle's people would've been discreet. She trusted them, so he was going to trust them. For now.

Today had the potential to suck even more than yesterday had. How were his friends going to react at work? They'd been mostly in shock yesterday so it was understandable that they hadn't had much reaction to his revelations. Today, though? How would it be? Would they condemn him for what he'd done? Would they not trust him any more after the years of lies? Granted, he'd been told to lie by people higher on the food chain than him and the team, but still. He hadn't exactly protested it over the years now had he?

What worried him even more was what Aaron was going to do. He'd said they were going to treat this like any other case and that wasn't exactly reassuring. The last thing Spencer needed was the Bureau finding out he was in contact with people from his old life. There were worse things they could do than just fire him. Remy and Belle both didn't need the attention this could bring to them. Spencer had started all this to protect Remy. That wasn't about to change now.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't hear the key in the lock but he was startled back to reality when he heard the door open. His hand was curled around his gun before he realized that it was just Derek returning home.

Derek took one look at Spencer sitting at the table and immediately turned to head down the hall towards his room.

This was ridiculous. Spencer was all for being tolerant and patient, but they were going to have to work together, and he was supposed to be trusting his and Belle's safety to him, this man that was supposed to be his best friend. Before Derek got more than two steps, Spencer called out "Morgan!" He watched as Derek stopped, though the man didn't turn to face him. Well, that was better than being ignored at least. "Morgan, we need to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about." Derek said. He started forward again, as if that closed the matter.

Spencer curled his hands a little tighter around his mug. "Yes, there is. I know you're angry with me and I know you're hurt. If you'd just come talk to me…"

"Oh that's rich." Derek cut in. Scoffing, he turned to shoot a glare Spencer's direction. " _You,_ wanting _me_ to come open up and talk? That's really rich, Reid."

The genius tried to hide his flinch. Okay, Derek had a point there. A nasty one, yes, but a valid one. Squaring his shoulders, Spencer refused to let it stop him. "I know. But I'm talking now, all right? I want to, to clear the air between us. You're my best friend, I don't want to fight with you."

That seemed to be the button to push to get Derek back over here. The profiler stormed towards the table, anger written plainly on his face. "Your best friend? Right now, I can't even be sure if I ever even knew you, Reid. I feel like everything I've known about you is one big giant fucking lie."

"You guys know who I am." Spencer said. He chose his words carefully, knowing that this was important, and that the wrong thing could really set Derek off. He wanted to fix this, not make it worse. "You do. I haven't been lying about everything. I just…didn't show you parts of me."

"Yeah, cause that's so much better. It's not even just the fact that you lied to us, though. Or that you apparently thought you couldn't trust us enough to tell us the truth after we'd been working together for _years_. It's that…God, it's like you're _proud_ of what you used to do. Like you're not even the least bit ashamed of having been a _criminal_. I can't reconcile that attitude with the person I thought I knew."

Oh. Spencer bit the inside of his cheek. He should've realized that this would bother the man. Drawing in a careful breath, he shrugged just a little awkwardly. "I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm proud." He lifted his head and forced himself to look up at Derek, to try and make him understand. "I am not, however, ashamed of myself. Not at all."

"See!" Derek exclaimed.

Spencer hurried to speak before Derek could say anything else. "You're acting like I was something horrible, Morgan. It's not like I went around snatching purses from little old ladies or cleaning out some poor woman's life savings. I stole from rich people who barely even noticed that what I took was gone."

"So that makes it okay?"

There was something in the way that he asked that that had Spencer going still. He looked up at Derek's face and carefully read through the expressions there. Realization hit and he sighed, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter how I answer that, does it?" he said lowly. "You've already made up your mind. Anything I say, you'll only find a way to twist it and use it to further prove your own viewpoint. You're not the least bit interested in honestly hearing anything I have to say. This conversation is pointless." Frustrated, annoyed, and so ready for this to be done, Spencer sighed. He pushed his hair back from his face and carefully gathered his composure until his face was covered by a cool, controlled mask. "I won't continue to debate this. It's pointless. I'll going to get dressed for work. I'll meet you in fifteen minutes at the car." Without giving Derek a chance to reply, he turned smoothly and headed towards the guest room, shoulders back and chin held high, a pride Derek had never seen in him before now written clearly in every line of his body.

* * *

Things didn't exactly get any better from there. When Spencer met up with Derek at the car exactly fifteen minutes later, the other man was completely silent, saying not a word to Spencer the whole drive in. He didn't even _look_ at him. Well, that was fine. Two could play this childish game. Spencer kept his own mouth silent and simply focused out the window. When they arrived at the Bureau, they stayed just as silent with one another as they made their way inside and up to the BAU.

The tension between them had to be obvious to the group of profilers who were already gathered in the conference room. Judging by the looks sent their way, none of their friends missed it. However, they said nothing. Spencer wasn't sure if that was just out of courtesy, or if there were some shared feelings in here. Emily smiled at him when he came in, but she said nothing, and Aaron looked even more stern faced than normal.

Dave, however, greeted him with a smile and a "Morning, Reid."

He smiled back at him and returned the greeting. "Hey, Rossi." It felt kind of nice to think that he had at least one person in his corner.

Well, two.

The minute Penelope came in the room, she hurried right over to him and handed him a big mug of coffee. Spencer could smell it the instant she handed it to him and he knew exactly what it was. Years back, Penelope had found this 'vanilla nut' coffee that was a mix of French vanilla and hazelnut and the both of them had absolutely loved it. Though she often preferred tea, jokingly saying that the last thing her usually happy self-needed was tons of caffeine for fuel, when she actually _did_ drink coffee, she liked it as sweet as Spencer did. Usually she kept a bag around and brewed some up with either one of them needed a bit of a pick-me-up. Bringing him a mug of it now, and giving him a quick hug, was her way of letting him know that she was there for him. It was enough to put a lump in his throat.

"All right, everyone, let's get started." Aaron said, cutting in to the small conversations going on.

Everyone seated themselves around the round table. Spencer carefully took his seat, wincing a little at the tug on his ribs and chest. The bruises there had really settled in and the pain reliever he'd taken only took care of so much. Once he got settled, he cradled the mug of coffee between his hands and carefully sat back in his chair. This was going to be difficult, he knew. Best to settle in for the long haul.

Aaron made a point to shut the door before he came over to join them at the table. He wasted no time before diving right in. "I had a meeting with Strauss this morning."

That certainly got everyone's attention. Spencer's whole body locked down and his blood ran cold. He'd gone to see Strauss? _No. Tell me that he didn't. Please, tell me he didn't._

A second later he felt like he could breathe again as Aaron's eyes moved over to him and he explained himself. "I told her that someone tried to kill one of my agents last night. I didn't mention anything about Remy, or about your past, Reid. For the moment I'm keeping that here, between us."

The tension drained out of Spencer and he breathed out a slow sigh of relief. "Thank you, Hotch."

"Don't thank me yet." Aaron warned him. "I'm not telling her yet because I don't believe it would be helpful in any way. But if at any point it becomes necessary to do so to keep you or any of us safe, I won't hesitate to do so, Reid. I won't sacrifice anyone to keep this quiet."

Spencer gave him a respectful nod. "Of course not, Hotch. I wouldn't expect you to. I understand that there's a good possibility that this all ends with everything coming out and my loss of a job here. I just… I want to bring Remy home. That's what's important to me."

"Have we figured out anything to help with that yet?" Emily asked.

Aaron sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. "We have some information. But I thought we might be better starting this if you tell us what it is you already know, Reid. Catch us up on Desi and what you've figured out so far and then we'll combine it with what Garcia was able to dig up this morning."

That made sense. Spencer took a bracing sip of his coffee and then carefully walked them through everything. He told them the story as best he could, only omitting anything that either directly implicated Remy, Spencer or Belle in any crime, or anything concerning the Guilds. Telling his own secrets was one thing. Telling Guild secrets? Yeah, he wasn't stupid.

"So, the picture of the guy you gave me, this Ettore?" Penelope held the picture up, making sure she had it right. "This is the guy that drove the cab that took your friend away?"

"That's him." Spencer agreed. "I got the footage from a nearby traffic cam and then cleaned up the image as best I could before I brought it to you. This was definitely the person driving the cab."

"You ' _got_ ' the footage?" Emily asked, arching one eyebrow.

A hint of color touched Spencer's cheeks. He snuck a quick look over at Penelope and then down at the mug in his hands. "Ah…remember those conditions I mentioned?" Sheepishly, he looked up at them through his bangs. "Well, I may have…that is to say, I, um, I might not be as ignorant of computers as I let everyone believe." The blush in his cheeks grew a little deeper when Dave chuckled and Penelope and Emily both actually gaped at him. He traced one of his fingers around the rim of his mug in a sort of nervous gesture. "One of the conditions they put was that I kept myself away from computers. Gideon thought it best if I just let people believe it was a quirk of mine, that I didn't really use them. I never actually confirmed or denied it. I just…let people think what they want."

"Wait a second, hold up…are you telling me I've been working with one of my own all this time and I didn't even know it?" Penelope exclaimed. Her tone made it hard to tell whether she was more offended or excited.

Spencer flashed her his most innocent look, the one that Belle and Remy had always labeled his 'I'm too sweet and cute to shoot' look. "I learned a lot watching you over the years." He said honestly, while hoping the compliment might soothe her a little. "Honestly, it's one of those things I'm, well, I was always kind of surprised no one questioned. With my skill and enjoyment in codes, I would've thought people would make the connection to hacking. It's all codes and numbers, two things that come easily to me and that I enjoy."

"Oh, ho, ho, we are _so_ getting into this later, boy wonder." Penelope promised him gleefully.

Their banter was cut short by a scowling Derek. "Can we get back on track here?"

"Morgan's right. What have you been able to find out about Desi, Garcia?" Aaron asked.

The bubbly hacker pushed back in her chair enough that she could face them all while still being able to face the big screen on the wall. A click of the remote in her hand and a picture of Desi came up on the screen. The sight of him after so long had Spencer's stomach jumping and flipping. _He looks the same_ , he thought, staring up at the man on the screen. _Absolutely the same. A few more lines, yes, but not much._ The man was still gorgeous. Looks had never been a problem for him. It wasn't the outside that was the issue; it was the inside. On the outside, he was a beautiful man. Olive skin, brunette hair, that aristocratic nose and the slight lilt to his lips, as if he were smiling at something only he knew. It was his eyes, though, that sent chills through Spencer. Though they could appear warm, it took but a split second for the pale blue to turn almost silvery cold. Twelve years had gone by since he'd seen that face and he could've happily gone another twelve more.

"Desi D'Amato." Penelope introduced him, clicking a button so another picture popped up of him right next to the first one. "Forty two years old, born and raised in Rome, he's apparently a part of a very important family over there. The D'Amato's appear to be one of the largest families in that area. In Italy, really. They're quite well connected in the art world."

"The D'Amato family runs art galleries." Spencer said softly, his eyes still up on the screen. "It was his family that was behind the showing I met him at. They're into so much more, though. Everyone over there knows not to mess with them. They have a lot of power. Or, they had. I'm not sure about anymore."

"Oh, they still do. And it looks like they might be trying to branch out to the US." Penelope said, pressing another button on the remote. This time there were other pictures of different men. One of them Spencer recognized as Ettore. Another, he thought might be Tomas, though he wasn't sure. He'd changed a bit over the years and there were a few scars that he didn't remember Tomas having. Then again, in his line of work, it wasn't a far stretch to think he'd gained some scars. Leaning forward, Spencer looked at the pictures and listened intently as Penelope spoke. "These are known associates of Desi D'Amato. The one on the bottom right there is Ettore and he's rumored to be Desi's right hand man, involved in everything. On the left from him is Paul Mist, his lawyer here in the states, and the man up top is Tomas Rubes. There's nothing that tells us what exactly his role is, only that he's close in the inner circle. These are the people that are supposed to be closest to Desi in the US. Or, at least, the ones that we've been able to catch information on. A few agencies have had their eye on Ettore and Tomas ever since they came over to the states around four years ago. They make a lot of return trips back to Rome, where it appears Desi's stayed up until recently, but for the most part they seem to have a gypsy residence here. They rarely stay in one place long and they don't travel together."

"They're searching for something." Emily said.

Aaron nodded and looked over to Spencer. "For you?"

It was a very distinct possibility. In fact, Spencer was willing to bet on it. "It'd be his style. Sending out his most trusted people to search for something he wants."

"But he couldn't find you, so instead, he went after the one person he knew would be able to tell him where you were." Derek surmised. "All he had to do was apply the right pressure and he got your location."

Though he knew it wasn't entirely logical, a flash of temper arrowed through Spencer. "Remy wouldn't give me up like that." He snapped before he could stop himself. When everyone looked over at him with varying expressions of surprise, he felt his cheeks heat and he looked away, clearing his throat and gathering himself before he spoke again in a voice that was calm once more. "Remy did everything he could to protect me. I highly doubt there's anything that Desi or his people could've done to convince Remy to give me up. It's much more likely that Desi played a waiting game and simply followed Belle once she came out here. He had to know that someone would eventually contact me if Remy was missing long enough. Desi's smart. Extremely smart. He'll have planned this out down to the smallest details. It's how he works."

"So how do we stop him?" Penelope asked hesitantly.

"We find him, first." Dave said. "Right now, it looks like no one knows where he is, right?" He waited for Penelope and Spencer both to nod, showing that neither one of them had been able to find the man. "Then I'd say that's our first order of business."

Aaron nodded his agreement. "Dave's right. There's nothing we can do until we find where the man is. Garcia, I want you and Reid to stay here and put together everything that you know about Desi D'Amato. Known associates, properties he owns, people he might come to see if he came here. Anything that we can use to try and pinpoint the man. Morgan, Prentiss, I want you two to head out to the scene of Reid's accident and see if you can find anything, then swing by the hospital and check to see if there was anyone else who might've stopped in there last night trying to check on him."

"I'll stay here and help Garcia and Reid." Dave offered, looking over at the two and giving them a small smile. "We can put together a profile on Desi while you two dig."

"All right, everyone, let's get to work."


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn't exactly Spencer's idea of a good time to spend his day digging through Desi's life. Not that there was really a lot that they could find. Nothing that they looked at gave them any clue whatsoever on how to find him. When that line proved to do nothing for them, they moved on to looking into the three men that Penelope had showed them this morning. There was a better chance of one of them leading them to Desi than any of Desi's actions. One thing Spencer remembered very clearly about Desi was the man's intelligence. It had been something that Spencer had enjoyed at first. At least, up until Desi's true colors showed through.

For the first time in quite a few years, Spencer found himself frustrated by the constraints that he had to work under. In his first few years at the Bureau he'd had a hard time not using the skills that had gotten him by for so many years. They'd all become second nature to him and training himself out of them had been difficult. Still, he'd managed it. Eventually he'd gotten to the point where he trusted Aaron to build up the plans for them without feeling the urge to check over them and make sure they were safe. Or where he could pass off the technical jobs to Penelope instead of itching to break out a computer and do it himself. He'd adjusted and learned to become a part of the team; the part that Jason and the Bureau wanted him to be. But now…this was ten times harder. It wasn't just some random case, some stranger or Unsub that he didn't know. This was Remy. _His_ Remy. Spencer found himself spending the entire day fighting back the urge to snatch the laptop from Penelope's hands and do his own research. He tried not to call up the others and ask them for a progress report. That wasn't his place. Aaron would bring them any information as he got it or it became necessary.

"You doing okay there, kid?" Dave asked him at one point, close to the end of the day.

Spencer had been pacing off to the side of the room, his mind spinning with all the little facts and details, trying to organize them into something resembling order. At Dave's question, he looked up, a bit surprise. "Hm?"

"I asked if you were doing okay. You're about to wear a groove in the floor."

"Oh." He stopped, hands twitching nervously in front of him before he stuffed them down into his sweater pockets. "I'm fine. I just…"

"You want to be doing something." Dave finished for him.

Sighing, Spencer nodded. That was an understatement. He hated having to stand around here and wait. He wanted to be out there, doing anything he could to find him, demanding answers from everyone. He wanted to be calling up contacts he wasn't supposed to have anymore and trying to find out anything he could. The only thing that had stopped him from reaching out to those old circles was the knowledge that Belle would be doing just that today. She wouldn't be staying at Derek's all day as the others probably presumed. She'd be working her own leads, trying to gather information on Desi by her methods, and he was itching to get back to the house so he could find out what she'd discovered. Though she hadn't called him, he knew that she had a better chance of getting information than he did.

Penelope turned in her chair so that she could face him and she offered him a smile that he could tell was meant to be supportive. "We'll find him, Reid, don't worry."

"I know." He did know. Really, he did. Between them and Belle, he had no doubt that Desi would eventually be found. One side or the other would find him. "I just…the longer it takes, the longer he has Remy." And that right there was the part that was giving him the most grief. The one that was making this all so hard. Every second they wasted was a second longer that Remy was in that man's hold. He'd already been with him for almost a month now. What had happened to him so far? What was Desi doing to him? Spencer tried so hard not to think about it because he didn't know what he'd do if he did. "He hates Remy. He's not…he's not going to be kind."

"Remy's important to you." Penelope said it as a statement, not a question, yet Spencer answered it anyways with a soft "Yes." That was something he would never deny. Blowing out a breath, he closed his eyes, trying to gather his composure. It wasn't working. "Desi would hate him for that alone." He said softly, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "Just because Remy's important to me, Desi would hate him for that. But on that trip when we met him, things at the end, they got bad."

He wasn't surprised that Dave asked "How bad?"

"Really bad." Spencer said flatly. He didn't want to say this; hadn't planned on it, actually. But he needed them to understand who they were up against. "The reason that we abandoned the job and left Rome so quickly was because Desi got tired of just watching. He had Ettore grab me when I went to use the bathroom in a restaurant. It took Remy two days to get to me at Desi's estate." The memories danced in the back of his mind and he pushed them as far back as he could. Details weren't necessary. He'd never told them to anyone before, not even Remy, and he wasn't going to start now. "To this day I still don't know what it was Remy said or did. But he came strolling into the room where Desi was keeping me and he escorted me out without any issues. One hour later we were on a plane back to the States. That was the last time I saw Desi."

The memories crowded in Spencer's head and he deliberately turned himself away from the too-observant eyes of his friends, strolling over to the window and staring down at the bullpen. It took him a few minutes and a bit of careful breathing before he managed to bring himself back under control and push those memories back into the lock box in the back of his mind where he kept the things that he didn't ever want to think about. When he blinked his eyes and finally _looked_ , it was in just enough time to see Derek and Emily making their way into the bullpen. The sight of them had Spencer's emotions threatening to waver once more. It got worse when he saw Derek look up their direction only to quickly look away again. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched his friend stop off with Emily at her desk. He felt Dave step up beside him. For a moment the man stood there, watching the others with him. When he finally did speak he kept his voice low and private. "Morgan's not that happy."

"No, he's not." Spencer agreed. He kept his voice soft as well.

"He'll come around, kiddo. It's a lot to take in."

Humming a low, agreeable sound, Spencer watched Derek sit down on the edge of Emily's desk, saw how he deliberately put his back towards this room like he knew they were watching, or like he wanted to avoid looking over here completely. It made something inside of Spencer ache a little. "I tried to talk to him this morning but he wasn't ready to hear any of it yet. Right now all he sees is a criminal, a past I should be ashamed of, and it infuriates him that I'm not. He doesn't know how to reconcile the two different parts of me into one person. So he ignores me, because it's easier than dealing with how angry and betrayed he feels."

A low, amused sounding huff came from Dave. "I thought we weren't supposed to profile each other."

Spencer turned and gave him an arched look that only made Dave laugh. Turning back, Spencer watched his friend through the window again. Dave's hand curled over his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "He'll come around, Reid." He told him gently. Then, letting go, he turned to move away.

"Rossi?" Spencer didn't turn from the window, but he heard the older profiler stop. "Would it be all right if Belle and I stayed with you for the night instead of at Morgan's?"

He could hear the smile in his friend's voice as he replied "No problem, kiddo."

"Thanks."

Going back to Derek's didn't seem like the smartest plan. Right now his best friend needed the space and Spencer could give that to him. If they stayed together, there was no telling what might be said, on either side. Better if he and Belle just stayed out of the way.

* * *

When it came time for them to all head home, he was surprised to see a small flash of something that looked like hurt in Derek's eyes when he was told that Spencer and Belle would be staying with Dave. He masked it quickly, though, before telling them that he'd bring Belle on over to make sure that she got there safely. Dave extended the offer for Derek to stay for dinner, only to have it politely and coolly declined.

Belle, however, showed up at Dave's all kind smiles and regal manners, thanking him effusively when she arrived for having them over and allowing them to stay in his home. This was a part of her that made Spencer chuckle to see. It wasn't one she dawned often. She much preferred a different way of dealing with people. Charming them, she'd usually left to Remy. It was nice to see how some of those rougher edges she'd had back then had smoothed out over the years. She was an absolutely perfect guest an she charmed the hell out of Dave. By the time dinner was done, they were all smiling, all much more relaxed than they'd been.

They retired to the sitting room where Dave was showing off not only his rather fantastic scotch, a drink Spencer rarely indulged in but did enjoy occasionally, but also his wonderful art collection. Spencer had seen most of it on his previous visits but his very favorite was hanging up—a landscape that wasn't done by anyone big or famous. Dave had told him once that a great-great-great grandfather of his hand painted it. The man had had exceptional talent and Spencer had become enamored of the painting since the first time he'd seen it. He stood in front of it now and sipped off his glass as he once more admired the artwork. Behind him, he heard Dave let out a low laugh. "He goes to that one every single time."

"I'll convince you yet to sell it to me." Spencer murmured.

"Not likely, kid."

"It's beautiful. Then again, I've always admired your collection each time I'm here. It's magnificent."

"Thanks. If any vanish, I'll know where to look."

Belle looked like she wanted to be offended, but Spencer was far too used to Dave's odd sense of humor. He grinned broadly at his friend, an open grin full of humor and confidence, such a different look for him. "You'd never even know it was gone." He teased back.

That had Dave letting out a startled laugh. He leaned against the wall, cradling his glass in his hand, and watched Spencer with a new light in his eyes. This was a different kid from the one he'd gotten to know, at least in some ways, but it seemed more like it was actually _him_. The Spencer that they'd only ever caught glimpses of when he had one too many drinks, or was a little more relaxed, and the real him slipped out. Unlike the others, who had known Spencer from the start and so had assumed that what they saw was what they got with him, Dave had only known him a few years and so he was a bit more free to form his views. He'd been able to see a bit of the act for what it was; a cover, hiding something else. It'd made him a little distrusting at first. Over time, he'd realized that whatever it was Spencer was hiding, it wasn't anything that was dangerous to them. This had only served to prove him right. He wasn't upset like the others were; just curious to get to know his friend for who he really was, not who he had to pretend to be.

"Is that so?" He teased, his smile showing none of his inner thoughts.

Spencer turned back to the painting and hummed low in his throat. "I know an excellent artist who does the most wonderful copies. You wouldn't even notice the difference. There are actually a few things in here that would be, tempting. And getting in here…" He looked up and around the room before settling his gaze back on Dave. The hint of a smirk that passed over his lips only made Dave's grin grow. "Two days, tops, for planning and preparation. Then, in and out in fifteen minutes."

"Geeze. Good to know my spendy security really pays out." Dave said dryly.

Off to the side, Belle laughed, and Spencer's smirk grew. "Y'r security isn't dat bad." Belle told him, moving smoothly to stand at Spencer's side. She curled her hand into the crook of his arm and leaned in to his personal space. "Spencer's planning skills are just dat good."

"Well, would you mind putting those skills to use an showing me where I could improve my security? I've got quite a few pieces in here I'd like to keep protected."

Spencer's smile grew wider and just a bit brighter. "Sure thing, Rossi."

* * *

It wasn't until the two were tucked into the guest room that night that Spencer and Belle finally had a chance to talk about their days. Stretched out on the bed with an ice pack on his chest, he was finally getting to ease the ache that pain killers hadn't quite been able to get rid of all day. Belle sat cross legged beside him on the bed, checking the stitches in his head. Spencer remembered the slight surprise on Dave's face when Belle had plainly declined the extra guest room and had instead come in here with him. Thankfully, the man hadn't said anything, and he hadn't given them any kind of a look that might've turned it awkward. That was something Spencer loved about Dave. He was pretty nonjudgmental. He'd showed that in a lot of ways today. Even without broaching their current topic not even once since they'd gotten here, he'd showed through his actions that he was on Spencer's side in this and that this wasn't changing things between them.

Spencer's thoughts were broken by an aching pain in his head as Belle probed a little too hard at his head. His low grown only earned him a light smack on his shoulder. "Quit y'r whining. Y'r fine." She scolded him.

He lifted a hand and waved it over his head, shooing her hand away. "I am fine, so quit poking at me."

Rolling her eyes, she settled back on the bed, leaning back on her hands. "Touchy, aren't y'? Don't take y'r bad temper out on me if y' had a bad day, Spencer Reid."

"I'm sorry." She was right, he was taking his temper out on her a bit. It had been a long, crappy day after a long, crappy night, and he was stressed and exhausted. It wasn't a good combination. Pinching at his nose, he tried to rub at the headache that had been playing there all day long. Without opening his eyes, he said "I hope you had a more effective day than I did. We basically found out nothing except that Desi is extremely talented at remaining hidden. There's nothing, absolutely nothing, that we've found to show us where he might be."

"I haven't found anything yet, either." She said, squashing the hopes that he'd been holding on to all day. "But I've got word out dere. T'ieves and Assassins both are looking. Jean-Luc has his people out dere looking just as much as we do. He sent a team up, too, to work with us. So we've got even more people now to watch over us."

Great. Thieves and Assassins didn't exactly work well together. At least, they hadn't back when he'd been involved in things. The truce between them had been tenuous at best after Belle and Remy's divorce. It must be somewhat strong, though, if he now had both of them here in DC guarding him and Belle. He wondered idly how they worked that schedule out and if Belle had at least set it up so they didn't have to cross paths too much. No need to create trouble with their guards.

Gentle fingers smoothed down his arm. "Be patient, Spencer. If he can be found, we'll find him. He can't hide from us. Especially not when we're working dis from both sides of de track. Legal or not-so-legal means, we'll find him."

"But will it be fast enough?"

They both knew what he was asking there. It was the one thing both of them were worried about the most. Remy had already been with Desi for so long now. How much longer was he going to survive? And, deep inside where he refused to look at the fear, a soft voice kept asking Spencer if he was sure Remy was even still alive. He kept pushing that voice back, but it kept getting louder and louder. Desi's hatred for Remy had been strong back then. There was no telling how strong it was now after having twelve years to simmer and grow.

"We'll get him back." Belle murmured.

Neither one of them said anything about what condition he might be in when they got him back. But it played in the backs of both their minds.


	8. Chapter 8

Three days went by without any leads in their case. Three days in which they found nothing that would tell them whether Desi was in the states, or even where he was at all. Three days in which there was no sign of any of him, his people, or anything. No attempts to take Spencer, no threats, no demands, _nothing_. It had Spencer beyond on edge. The worry for his own life wasn't his primary concern, though. With each passing day all he could think of was that it was another day that Remy was in Desi's care. What was happening to him? How was he being treated? Was Desi hurting him? Remy was smart and he was creative. If there was a way to escape, he would've done it in the past month. That meant one of three things—he was being held very securely, he was too hurt to escape, or he was…gone. Spencer tried to only think of the first option. The other two had him flirting awfully close to a panic he wasn't sure he'd come back from.

The only thing that happened during those days was a brief, discreet meeting on the second night. Even that hadn't really been anything. The two slipped out once they were sure Dave was asleep and they met up with two of Belle's guard and two of the Thieves that Jean-Luc had sent up. The report from both sides was pretty much nothing. No one had found anything out about Desi. The only thing that they were able to say for sure was that he was no longer in Rome.

That was the first time that Spencer really got to meet any of the Thieves that had come up. The way they looked at him, so intent and serious, and how they didn't once look away from him even when they were answering Belle's questions, left him feeling slightly uncomfortable and he was glad when they finally went back inside.

Belle found it hilarious.

"Y'r cute when y' don't know something." She teased him as he brushed his teeth in the en suite bathroom.

That had him poking his head out the door to look at her. She was sitting on the bed in pajama bottoms and a tank top, legs crossed and reclining back on her hands, perfectly at ease with herself. At his confused look, she let out a husky laugh. "Spencer." The way she said his name was a low drawl that he was familiar with when he'd done something that she found particularly exasperating and yet amusing. "Dey know who y' are. Of course dey're deferring to y'."

"What are you talking about?"

She let out another of those laughs and didn't bother answering his question. Shrugging, he let it go and finished preparing for bed. There was no point in pushing Belle on something she didn't want to talk about.

* * *

It was on the fourth day when Spencer finally had enough.

The team was gathered in the round table room, the door shut to protect them from anyone coming in, and they were once more discussing ways to try and find Desi. Even just something that could tell them where in the world he was at the moment. Spencer listened with growing agitation as they bandied about ideas that they all knew weren't going to work. None of the things they were suggesting were going to work! Desi was too good, too smart. He'd had a long time to plan things out. They weren't going to trip him up with something little and stupid. But there was one that had been playing around in the back of Spencer's head. One idea that he knew the others weren't going to like. He was getting desperate, though. They needed to get Remy home. _Now_.

Spencer finally couldn't take listening to them anymore. "We're all overlooking the one obvious solution here."

That sure got their attention. All eyes turned towards him; even Derek, who avoided looking at him lately. Only one of them, though, seemed to know what it was he was going to say. "No, Reid." Aaron said flatly, already shaking his head. "No."

"It's our best bet, Hotch. You know it."

"What are you two talking about?" Penelope asked, looking back and forth from one to the other.

Spencer sat forward, only hissing a little at the pressure on his still sore ribs. He rested his arms on the table and kept his shoulders back, his chin up. "We all know what Desi wants out of this—he wants me. That's his end goal. So I say we give it to him. Let me go out, alone. He'll come for me. I know he will." He could see the protests already building and he rushed to spit out his words, to try and convince them of what he was beginning to think might be their only option. "If you let me go home, _alone_ , you know there's a good chance he'll come out of the woodwork."

"We are not using you as bait, Reid!" Emily said.

"It might be our only choice!" Spencer fired back hotly. His voice cracked with the sharpness of a whip and silenced the others. Some of the inner fear and pain that he'd been feeling ever since Belle first showed up was leaking through now. "Every single day that goes by is another day Remy's with him. Do you get that? Do you understand what he could be doing to him right now? I don't _care_ if this puts me at risk. I don't care if you don't approve. I will do anything, _anything_ , to bring him home."

"We're not willing to sacrifice you to do it." Aaron said in that tone of voice that the others had learned over the years meant he wasn't going to be moved.

There was a brief moment where the two men locked gazes and the air seemed charged around them. It was broken when Spencer let out a disgusted snort and shoved back from the table. Before anyone could say anything to him, he'd marched out of the room, opening the door hard enough that it almost smacked against the wall. The very out of character display of temper was more suited to Derek than to Spencer. They all watched Spencer as he moved through the bullpen and out the far doors. Only when they saw him turn in the direction of the bathrooms, not towards the elevators, did any of them relax. "Wow." Penelope breathed out. "I've never seen Reid get pissed like that."

"This Remy obviously means something to him. Something important. What wouldn't you guys do for someone important?" Dave asked them. His simple words had a sobering effect and the room went quiet once more.

* * *

It wasn't until a good fifteen minutes had passed that any of them started to get worried. Penelope was the first to point it out. "Reid should've been back by now."

"PG's right." Emily agreed. She turned in her chair to look out over the bullpen. "Even with him being upset, he still should've been back already. He's been working this nonstop lately. I can't see him giving that up for a break no matter how pissed he is."

There was a moment of quiet before someone finally spoke. "I might know where he is." Derek said slowly. He knew that Spencer liked to hide out in his office when things got too much. With as annoyed and upset as he was, it wouldn't surprise him to find him down there. For a brief second Derek debated just telling one of them where the man might be; things between him and Spencer weren't the greatest at the moment. But Spencer always went in there to hide out from everyone else. Sending other people just felt, wrong. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Angry with one another or not, he pushed up from the table. "Give me a second to go check. I'll be right back."

When he reached his office, he was honestly surprised not to find Spencer there, an a tiny bit relieved not to have to have any kind of confrontation with his friend. He wasn't worried, though, not yet. _In for a penny, in for a pound_ , he figured, and he stopped off to check the bathroom next. No Spencer. He checked the next bathroom, the one closer to the bullpen. No Spencer.

That was when he started to worry.

He checked Penelope's office, though he doubted Spencer would be there.

Nothing.

He wasn't in Derek's office, wasn't in a bathroom, wasn't in Penelope's office, and when Derek hurried back to the others, he saw that Spencer wasn't in the bullpen or back with the team either. His steps quickened as a horrifying thought started to build. He wouldn't dare—would he? _Are you kidding?_ A voice whispered in the back of his mind. _You know he would. What wouldn't Reid do for someone he cares about_?

Derek burst through the door of the round table room, eyes wide. "Reid's gone."

* * *

Spencer was more than just 'gone'. By the time his team had realized his disappearance, he was already halfway home. Despite how he looked, slumped almost lazily against the backdoor in the cab, his eyes were sharp and he was fully on alert, watching carefully for any signs that he might've been followed back home. He _wanted_ to be followed. Desi wasn't going to stick his head out while Spencer was completely surrounded by guards; there was just no way. He wasn't stupid. This was one giant game that he was playing with them and Spencer was tired of playing by everyone else's rules. He needed to do this. Why couldn't they understand that?

There was no sign of anyone trying to follow his cab back to his apartment. Still, he knew someone would be watching, and he made no effort whatsoever to hide when he climbed out of the back of the cab and made his way to the front door of his building. He remembered how Desi had done things the last time around and he could and he was banking on some of that being the same this time. Last time, he and Remy had found the bugs in their hotel room. Spencer as hoping there would be some of them in here now.

With that in mind, he went into his apartment for the first time in days, shutting but not locking the door behind him. Then he made his way straight to the middle of the living room. Standing there, he looked around him, letting his gaze slip over the room with a trained eye. Nothing was really out of place, at least not extremely. Some of it could be blamed on Belle's people coming to get his clothes, maybe. But there was something…there. Over by his bookcase. He moved over towards it and carefully moved the book out of the way. Behind that first book, he found nothing. It'd apparently been just slightly nudged. But on the third he finally found _something_. A low hum of pleasure slid up his throat when he moved the book and found the tiny little camera it'd been hiding. He took hold of the camera and pulled it out and up towards his face. "All right, you son of a bitch. I'm here and alone. Come and get me."

The room went silent for a moment as Spencer dropped the camera down to the ground.

Seconds later, the sound of a ringing phone filled the room.

It wasn't his cell phone and he didn't have a home phone. A quick search, following the sound, unearthed a disposable, prepaid cell phone lying in the open on his bed. It's location was a message that Spencer wasn't going to bother thinking about at the moment. He was more focused on scooping the phone up—he had enough presence of mind to grab a shirt so he wouldn't put his fingerprints on it or mess up any fingerprints that might be there—and then he was pressing the phone to his ear. "Just a phone call, Desi? I'm disappointed."

Laughter came down the phone line. " _My most abject apologies, my dear. I thought it better this way_."

It was a voice that Spencer hadn't heard in twelve years. The sound of it now was enough to send shivers racing down his spine, and not the good kind. He fought not to let it show; there was no telling where else there might be cameras in here. One camera wasn't practical. Spencer drew in a breath and prepared himself to play a part. It was the only way he was going to get through this. "I was hoping for something a little more, productive, than just a phone call."

" _Mm. Yes, I'm sure you were. But I find I like this. How are you, my dear? It's been so very long since we last saw one another._ "

"I've been better." Spencer said dryly. He dropped himself down onto the edge of the bed, leaning back on one hand and crossing his legs, going for a relaxed, almost bored pose. He arched one eyebrow and turned his tone a bit dry. "I tend to be a bit unhappy when people I care for go missing. A quirk of mine, you see."

" _You always were such a soft soul._ " Desi said, the smile in his voice clear, and Spencer had to fight back another shudder at the tone of pure possessiveness. " _So sweet. So kind._ "

"I'm not particularly feeling either of those at the moment, Desi. Mostly what I am is worried, and angry. You took someone very important to me and I want him back."

" _I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear. And even if I did, well, what would be the fun in telling? I always did love a good surprise._ "

Oh, he was being careful. Very, very careful. Nothing he'd said so far could implicate him in anything whatsoever. He was giving nothing away. Spencer's fingered tightened over the phone and he had to draw in a careful breath just to keep himself from snarling furiously at the man. This was the bastard who had Remy. Who'd _taken_ him. So many parts of Spencer wanted to scream at him, to demand that Remy be brought back _right now_. The profiler in him, the thief that Remy had trained, both those parts knew that shouting would do nothing except for maybe get Remy hurt even more. Those parts of him kept his voice calm and controlled, albeit just a bit sharp. "I've been waiting to hear from you, but it's been days and you haven't said or done anything. What good is your surprise if there's no one there to appreciate it?"

" _Good things come to those who wait._ " Desi teased him.

Sitting up, he used his free hand to brush his hair back from his face. "I can be patient, when the incentive is right. But I want some kind of proof that there's even still a reason to wait. What's the point in playing if my prize is already gone?"

" _Oh, such little faith in me, my dear Spencer. Think you I'd dispose of the prize before the game even really gets a chance to be played?_ " A soft _'_ _hmm'_ sounded over the line and then Desi's voice changed, turning a bit less playful and a bit more businesslike. " _It looks as if we'll have to finish our conversation later. Your company is about to arrive and I find myself suddenly very preoccupied. Keep the phone, my love. Consider it my gift to you. Until we speak again!_ "

Before Spencer could protest, there was a click as the call disconnected.

Desi's words took a second to sink in. Once they did, Spencer was pushing up off the bed and moving towards the living room. He got there just as his door was snapped open and the rest of his team came pouring in, guns at the ready.

Holding his hands up in a sign of peace, Spencer tried to mentally brace for the storm that was about to hit. "Everything's fine, guys. There's no one else here but me."

There was absolutely no doubt whatsoever that he'd managed to piss off his friends. As weapons were holstered, Aaron marched straight up towards him, anger written clearly in every line of him. He stopped right in front of Spencer and pinned him in place with that sharp, furious glare. "If you ever do something so completely stupid again, I will put you into protective custody and stash you in a safe house while the rest of us handle this. I understand this is personal to you, but I will not stand for one member of my team putting himself at risk like that."

If Aaron had expected his words to cow Spencer or make him feel guilty, he was sadly mistaken. The young genius straightened up and didn't back down in the least from his boss's glare. "I haven't done anything illegal, Hotch. I left work without permission, true, but simply to come to my own home, a place I have every right be to be. You can't force protective custody on me no matter how much you may want to."

"I'm not going to stand here and watch you put yourself at risk." Aaron shot back.

It took everything Spencer had not to tell him 'then don't look'. He squashed that childish response and held tighter to the cool mask he'd put on during his phone call. Lifting his hand, he held out the cell phone that was still gripped inside the shirt. "If I hadn't come here, we wouldn't have this. Or that camera over there." He gestured with the phone to where the camera sat on the floor. "I imagine there's others, so you might want to mind what you say. Apparently he managed to get someone in here to bug my apartment and leave this phone on my bed." Twisting his wrist so that the shirt better covered the phone, he dropped it in Aaron's outstretched hand. "I never touched it outside the shirt, so there's a minimal chance that there will be prints on there. I wouldn't count on it, but it's worth the effort. Garcia and I might be able to get something off the cameras, though. I'm sure Desi's watching the feed now, amusing himself by watching us scramble, but he's too smart to have set up anything that can be traced back to him. He'll dump them before we get far. Still, it might at least let us know where in the world he is."

"You talked to him?" Dave asked, focusing on what he obviously considered the important part of all of this.

"I did."

They took their conversation downstairs, away from the apartment and out to the parking lot where the SUV's were parked. Once Aaron put in a call to get a crime scene unit here to take care of the apartment and search for more cameras and any potential prints, he had Spencer recite the phone conversation word for word. When he was done, they all took a bit to think about what had and hadn't been said. "He was careful." Emily said.

"I told you, he's extremely intelligent." Spencer reminded them. "He's not going to implicate himself."

"It sounds like he plans on calling back soon." Derek said. He looked at the phone that Aaron still held. It was out of the shirt now, held in Aaron's gloved hands, and the senior profiler was searching through it. "Is there anything in there, Hotch?"

Aaron shook his head. "Nothing. The number he called from doesn't even show up."

"We'll need to process the phone quickly. If he calls again, it'll be Reid he'll want to speak to." Emily said.

Their conversation was cut off then by the arrival of the CSU. It wasn't just them that pulled in, though. Another car pulled up behind them, one that Spencer didn't recognize, but he did recognize the woman that climbed out of the passenger's seat. He couldn't stop the low "Oh, _hell_ " that slipped past his lips as Belle came marching towards him. This wasn't going to go well. Judging by the look on her face, she already knew what was going on, which meant that she most likely had someone around here that was standing guard and who had reported everything to her. Spencer didn't question how she'd gotten the information. There was no point in that. He just prepared himself to deal with the fallout.

Belle wasn't much any happier than the team had been when she saw him. She was just a bit more open about it. She marched right past everyone, straight to Spencer, and greeted him with a slap that snapped his head to the side. Then she grabbed his chin in a hard grip, fingers biting into his skin, and forced him to meet her eye to eye. "Y' ever do something like dat again and I'll tie y' up and lock y' in de trunk of m' car and we'll be out of town in de hour, heading f' home. Do I make m'self clear?"

Already on edge, Spencer reached up and caught her wrist, using a trick that he'd, funny enough, learned from her. He broke her hold and then twisted her wrist until it was pushed up at an awkward angle between them, putting just enough pressure to bring it right to the danger point without actually causing her serious damage. He held it there, ignoring the sharp call of "Reid!" off to the side. His eyes were hard and cold when he leaned in and brought their faces only inches apart. "Don't presume to try and tell me what to do, Bella Donna. I'll do whatever it takes to bring him home, whether you approve of it or not. I don't answer to you. Do _I_ make myself clear?" Releasing her wrist, he took a step back, watching her warily.

"Reid, what do you think you're doing?" Emily demanded, moving up to stand at Belle's side.

A gesture from Belle stopped her. The woman kept her eyes on Spencer and the look that was there was tempered with something like respect. " _Non_ ," she told the others, keeping her eyes on Spencer. Then she dipped her head towards him in understanding and, yes, that _was_ respect, he was sure of it this time. "Point well made, _petit frère._ "

The use of the title was deliberate, her way of letting him know that they were okay and a sort of apology all at the same time. When she moved forward again, he didn't flinch, just lifted an arm when she got close. He slid his arm around her shoulders while she slipped hers around his waist, tucking herself in against his side. She stayed there for the next few hours as Spencer's apartment was processed.


	9. Chapter 9

A grand total of seven cameras were found in Spencer's place, and four microphones. It was extremely disturbing to know that one camera with its own built in microphone had been found in the bathroom. Really, though, he shouldn't have been surprised. The same thing had happened the first time around. He and Remy had found a camera in the shower of their hotel room. Spencer remembered how furious Remy had been, absolutely livid at the invasion of privacy. He'd ranted and raved for hours once he'd destroyed the camera. Whereas Spencer had been numb and a little afraid, Remy had been pissed.

There was no Remy here now to be angry for him. There was, however, his team, and the woman who hadn't left his side once since she'd arrived at the apartment. They were all angry and worried enough on his behalf.

Belle hadn't left Spencer once since she'd arrived. She stayed with him that afternoon and went home with him when Aaron finally ordered it. Then she'd stayed at his side through the night, the two of them discussing and dissecting that phone call over and over, trying to figure out _anything_ that might help them. Anything that they could do. None of Penelope's skills had been able to do anything to trace the call, to pinpoint even where it had come from, and as Spencer had suspected, the cameras were a dead end. His attempts didn't pan out, either. He'd tried on his own laptop while tucked away in Dave's house that night but all his efforts proved for nothing. Desi was playing his game very carefully. Once more, they were stuck waiting for his next move.

They didn't have to wait long.

Spencer arrived at work the next morning with Belle still with him—at Dave's request, actually. He'd said that they'd all agreed she was just as much a part of this and now that Desi had showed himself, the safest place for her was at the Bureau with them. Neither Spencer nor Belle bothered to explain that Belle was more than capable of handling herself or that she already had round the clock protection detail. She wasn't eager to leave him alone and this suggestion allowed her to be at his side. Not for her protection, but to protect him. It was what she wanted and Spencer didn't really care either way, so Dave's offer was greatly appreciated on her part.

When they came into the office, they were immediately flagged down by Aaron, who was gathering the whole team into the conference room. As soon as Spencer stepped inside he knew that something had happened. There was an air of tension thick and heavy in the room.

His eyes landed on a box sitting on the conference table and he swore his heart skipped a beat.

The tape was broken on it, showing that it had been opened and searched, as per regulations. Security had to make sure that it was safe before they allowed it inside. The way that Aaron and the others were watching him told Spencer that he wasn't going to like what he found inside. He took a breath and hated how shaky it felt. How shaky _he_ felt. So far he'd held strong through all of this, focusing on what he had to do, what needed to be done, to keep him from simply panicking and falling apart. Right now, that grip felt tenuous at best. Somewhere off to the side he thought he heard someone speak, but it didn't really register. He did hear the cooler sound of Belle's voice responding, though, and he trusted her to handle anyone else.

Spencer didn't realize at first that Belle had shifted at his side until her fingers slotted through his. He latched on without thought and drew strength from her presence. It was the only thing that gave him the ability to take a step forward, and then another, and another, until he was right beside the table. He was shocked that his free hand didn't shake when he lifted it and very carefully opened the top of the box.

There was a ponytail of hair lying inside of the box. It looked as if someone had pulled the person's hair into a ponytail and then simply hacked it off right above the tie. Spencer's mind tried to insist that it didn't matter it was the same color as Remy's hair. It didn't matter at all! Anyone could have that color of hair. Just because there was a ponytail of auburn hair didn't mean that it belonged to Remy! But then his eyes locked on what it was that was holding it all together and it was like a fist to the gut. The whole world froze. Spencer heard Belle suck in a breath beside him and the grip of her hand tightened almost painfully. _No_ , his mind breathed out. _No_.

Very carefully Spencer reached down into the box and picked up the ponytail. He held it, cradling the soft, slightly greasy strands in his hand. All of his focus was on where it was held together, though. The hair was tied off with a simple ponytail, nothing special, but _over_ that ponytail was a ring. A ring that Spencer knew very, very well. It was a wide gold band with a large, princess cut ruby at the center and two rows of black diamonds, three in each row, on either side of it. A bit flashy, as Spencer had always teased him, and done up in what they both jokingly called Remy's colors. It was a perfect match to the slightly smaller version that currently sat on a chain around Spencer's neck. His wasn't as wide, the stones not as large. More suited to his slender fingers. Remy had stolen them once, from the home of a sleazy oil baron who had hired him for a job and then tried to screw him over. As he told it, he said that he'd taken the rings as a sort of payment, restitution for almost getting shot.

He let go of Belle's hand to very carefully reach up and slide the ring off the hair. Gently, he set the bit of hair down, all of his focus on the ring. Or, more accurately, on the blood that was dried on the ring.

"It was delivered to the Bureau about an hour ago, addressed to you." Aaron said, his voice low and gentle. He was somewhere off to Spencer's left. "There was nothing else in the box. No pictures, no letters. We weren't sure, so we're having the blood on their tested…"

"It's his." Spencer interrupted hoarsely. With his free hand, he reached down into the collar of his shirt, snagging the chain there and pulling it out. Then he held it up so everyone could see the ring dangling at the end. Without looking up, he gave up another secret, one he'd held close to his heart. "They're our wedding rings. That's why Desi sent it."

Belle's hand settled low in his back and he looked over at her, saw the grief in her eyes that she hid from those who didn't know her well enough to see. She pressed close to him and he didn't pull away. He needed the contact.

"Your _wedding rings_?" Someone repeated.

It sounded like Derek, but Spencer couldn't be sure. It felt like he was wrapped in thick, heavy wool, numb to everything around him. He answered on autopilot, barely even noticing the words passing his lips. "Yes. We got married in Paris, right before our trip to Rome. It wasn't a love match or anything. It was a marriage of convenience. He was being pressured by certain people to marry, for the sake of his family and his position, and I was his best friend. Our marriage got them off his back, kept him from having to worry about that, and it provided me with a modicum of protection for both myself and my mother."

"Why doesn't it show up in any of your records?" Someone else asked. Penelope, maybe? The voice was female.

Belle answered for him, saving him from having to really focus. "Dey never filed de papers here in de US. Dere's a lot of paperwork to make an overseas marriage legal in de United States."

This was just too much. Way too much. Desi had done this intentionally to strike a blow at Spencer and his aim had been true. This hit him right in the heart, a sharp stab worse than anything else so far. Yesterday, Spencer had asked for some kind of proof. Well, Desi had delivered. He'd chopped off Remy's hair and sent it wrapped in a bloody ring that he knew Spencer would recognize and that he knew would have an emotional impact. He was letting Spencer know that he did have Remy and that he was alive enough to bleed while at the same time deliberately getting rid of something that marked Spencer as belonging to Remy. "What does it matter?" Spencer asked, interrupting the group. His fingers curled around the ring and he lifted wide, tortured eyes to his friends. The control he'd been fighting so hard to keep was fracturing. "What the hell does it matter that we're married? Why does it matter that I didn't tell you? Why the hell does it matter whether we filed the US paperwork or not? The fact of the matter is that this son of a bitch has Remy, my _husband_. Why don't we try focusing on that instead of your hurt feelings because I didn't tell you about the fact that I'm married? I'd like to bring him back home before Desi actually decides to _kill him_!"

He had to get out of here. He had to get away from them, from all of them, right now. Right the hell now. Because he was going to break apart, he could feel it, and the last thing he wanted was to do it with an audience.

His feet carried him quickly away from the conference room and down to the only place that felt like safety right now, the one place he always went to when he needed to hide, and the very place that Derek had thought to find him just yesterday. Spencer's feet carried him to Derek's office without a thought and he snapped the door shut behind him in just enough time. All the fears that he'd been holding back since Belle first showed up came pouring out of him in a torrent of tears that burned their way down his cheeks. He didn't care about the protest in his ribs as his legs gave way and he slid down to the floor. He just curled himself up in a ball with his back against the wall. Elbows on his knees, he curled his arms over his head and just let himself go. Let out the fear and the pain and just _everything_.

When the door beside him opened, he didn't look up. There were only two people who would come here and he didn't care about looking this way in front of either of them.

He knew which one it was when he felt the solid form that settled down on the ground next to him. Derek sat right beside him, close enough that their shoulders brushed together. He didn't say anything, didn't do anything. Just sat there and leant his support while Spencer broke apart, and then while he slowly started to piece himself back together. They'd been this route before. Derek knew him well; well enough to know that words weren't at all what Spencer needed. He didn't need reassurances or condolences or false hope. He just needed the steady presence of someone he trusted and who he knew would watch over him while he let out his grief, and who would keep watching until he got the broken pieces of himself put back together again. They'd done this after Georgia, after Tobias Hankel had ripped his way through Spencer's life, after the drugs had taken him down to rock bottom. If it wasn't for Derek, there was no way Spencer would've made it through all that, and he knew it. And it was with Derek's solid, steady presence that Spencer was making it through now. Making it these last few days with the added pressure of his best friend being furious with him had been harder than Spencer had let on.

Slowly, the tears tapered off, the sobs faded away. When Derek offered him a box of tissues, he took one, keeping his head bent so that his hair hid his face. Embarrassment colored his cheeks as he wiped the moisture away from his eyes. "Sorry." He said softly, hoarsely.

"You're not the one with something to apologize for." Derek answered just as softly.

His words stunned Spencer and had his head snapping upwards. He found Derek right there, watching him with sorrow on his face. Sorrow, and that familiar brotherly affection that he'd clung to so many times. With all of it right there, he found it hard to hold on to his own anger or hurt from Derek's earlier actions. "I think we both are."

Derek gave a soft huff of wry amusement. "Yeah. Maybe we are."

Wiping his face once more, Spencer shifted his weight, finally noticing the ache in his chest and ribs. He uncurled his legs only to cross them underneath him. It let him rest his elbows on his knees. He looked down at his hands, opening his fist. Remy's ring sat there dully in his palm. Some of the blood had wiped off, the sweat from his hand smearing it onto his palm, and he wanted nothing more than to go and wash it all clean, get any traces of Remy's blood off of there. He didn't want to think about Remy being held by this bastard, being _hurt_ , all because of him. "I don't know how to handle this, Morgan. I don't know how to do this. Desi…he's hurting Remy because of _me_."

He heard a soft little sound from his friend, something he couldn't quite decipher. "You love him."

Spencer looked up at his best friend and let go of the masks that he always kept up. He let go of them all and just looked up at him with his heart in his eyes as he simply said "Of course I do."

"Jesus, Reid." Derek breathed out, looking for all the world like he'd just been punched.

A shudder ran down Spencer and he looked once more at the wedding ring he held. His marriage band. "Why do you think I took the deal with Gideon? He threatened to bring a team down and dig into everything about my life, every little detail. I knew if he did that, it'd lead him straight to Remy. Protecting Remy was what got me into that in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"The job I was caught on—we were doing a favor for someone we owed. Unfortunately, it was a rigged job right from the start. The guy who was supposed to be our inside man double crossed us all and messed up our exit, leaving me lying there with the jewels and a broken leg, no way to run, and Remy at my side. I didn't have a record yet and I knew that I'd do time, but nowhere near as bad as what would happen to Remy if he were there. Not just because of who he was, but because of what he was. Law enforcement wasn't the kindest to mutants back then. So I told him to run." He didn't think about saying that, not realizing that he'd never mentioned to anyone that Remy was a mutant. It honestly hadn't occurred to him to tell them. Remy being a mutant had never mattered to him, not once.

The room was quiet for a moment, the two of them just sitting there side by side. After a long pause, Derek finally spoke again, but his question wasn't what Spencer had been expecting. "Once Gideon made the deal with you and you were free—why didn't you run? Just, disappear."

"Oh, the thought crossed my mind." Spencer said, chuckling weakly. "As much as he watched me, he didn't keep me under lock and key. I could've run at any time. I had the money and the means to disappear from the country. Even if I hadn't, Remy would've helped. All I had to do was ask. But if I ran, Remy would've run too, and his whole life here would've been lost. Gideon would've hunted us both. I couldn't do that to him or to his family, and I couldn't do that to Mom."

"You're a good person, Reid." Derek told him. "I'm sorry I forgot that for a while."

"It's okay." Spencer said softly. He looked up at Derek with that same, familiar shy smile, a hint of teasing in his eyes. "Everyone's entitled to their asshole moments, right? I just figured it was your turn."

Derek chuckled lowly and leaned over, bumping his shoulder against Spencer's. The two shared a soft smile. Things were still horrible right then, the fear and panic were still inside of Spencer waiting to break free once more, but in that moment, he'd somehow managed to salve his friendship with one of his closest friends, and he'd take what good he could find right now.

* * *

When the two men finally made their way back to the conference room, they found Emily and Dave both gone. Penelope was set up at the conference table with her laptop open, clicking away at something, and Aaron was standing near her looking through something inside the folder he held. The box with Remy's hair was closed up and Spencer saw that it'd been set aside, over on the couch. He didn't mind that. Right now he really didn't want to see it.

"Where'd Prentiss and Rossi go?" Derek asked as he strolled over to the table, giving Spencer's shoulder one last squeeze before he moved away from him.

No one said anything about Spencer's panicked run from the room or about the obvious signs of his grief still on his face. The only acknowledgement was when Belle moved to stand at his side again, slipping her hand into the crook of his arm while her other hand lifted and her fingers ghosted lightly over his cheek. They shared a silent, private look, seeing and acknowledging each other's grief. He reached over and patted the hand curved over his elbow.

"They went to go and interview people around Reid's building, see if they can find someone that might've seen someone going in or out of Reid's place." Aaron told them. "It's a long shot, but it's better than nothing right now. We're running low on options here."

Spencer cleared his throat to try and combat the slightly raw feeling that was still there. He let Belle lead him forward, the two of them taking chairs side by side at the table. "Desi's playing a game." Spencer said, sinking carefully into his seat. "He's smart and he's meticulous. He plans ahead for everything he can and tries to prepare for it."

"No one can prepare for everything, though. He'll slip up somewhere." Derek said. He took a chair beside Penelope, smiling at her and getting a warm smile in return.

Tapping a few more times on her keys, Penelope added in what she had, which really wasn't anything. "He's good with electronics, or he employs someone who is. I wasn't able to get anything off his cameras or that cell phone. Not without there being an active call going. Then, _maybe_ , I could get something. At least a general radius to work with."

"Dere was nothing on de package? No prints, no letters, none of dat?" Belle asked.

There was only a slight hesitation before Aaron answered her. Typically, she wouldn't have been allowed in here, but the circumstances behind this were unique. "Nothing. All of it came back clean. A courier delivered it this morning and he says he was paid to take it in by a man that he claims he didn't see. All he remembered was that the man was wearing a hat and that he had a emerald ring on his pinky."

Spencer's head snapped up at that. "Emerald? Did he say if it had diamonds on it as well?"

Checking the folder he held, Aaron nodded as he slid down into the seat beside Derek. "Emerald with a bunch of diamonds surrounding it, he said."

"I know that ring. That's Ettore's." He looked over at Penelope and gestured toward her laptop wit one hand. "May I?"

"Of course."

She slid the laptop over to him and Spencer went to work, ignoring the surprise on the faces of everyone but Belle as he pulled a flash drive from his messenger bag and hooked it in before his fingers began to race across the keys. Within moments he had the picture he wanted from his files. Zooming in on the ring, he turned the laptop around to show it to them. "He wore it back when I knew him, too. If you take this to your courier, he might be able to identify it. It's not a positive ID that it's Ettore, but it's another small thing to link him in to all this."

Whatever else might've been said was cut off then by the ringing of the cell phone in the middle of the table.

For one split second everyone was still and silent. Then, like the flip of a switch, they were all in motion. Penelope had the program on her computer up and running to trace the call and Aaron was moving to shut the door and guarantee privacy. At a gesture from him, Spencer reached out and flipped the phone open, answering it and putting it on speakerphone. He knew his boss wouldn't let him get away with not doing that.

" _My dear love,_ " Desi's smooth voice came over the line, the Italian accent heavy over the English words. " _It's a fine morning, is it not?_ "

"What do you want from me, Desi?" Spencer demanded. Before everyone's eyes, everything about him changed. His expression hardened and even his body language shifted, though Spencer didn't even notice. He sat up a little straighter, shoulders squaring, and he lifted his chin, looking nothing like the shy man they were used to.

" _Now, now, now, is that any way to speak to an old friend, Spencer dear? An after I went through all that trouble to send you a lovely gift. Didn't you like it?_ "

"You better not have hurt him." Spencer warned him in a voice gone low and cold. "So help you, when I find you, he had better be alive."

Desi made a soft tsk'ing sound. " _Threats? Oh, my dear, how the years have changed you. A beauty like you should never resort to acting like some common thug._ "

"I wouldn't have to if bastards like you didn't feel the need to take what belongs to me." Spencer shot back.

A gesture from Aaron warned him to cool it, to keep his temper, as did the firm squeeze Belle gave his arm.

" _You've developed a foul attitude over the years._ " Desi said, sounding less amused than he had before. " _I don't think I like it._ "

"My apologies. I tend to get a bit upset when people I care for are in danger."

" _Of course you do. It is a sad thing, yet, some might say necessary, when certain people have brainwashed you to the truth. When they have fought to keep us apart._ "

He needed to keep Desi on the line, give Penelope more time to trace the call. Spencer changed his tone just the slightest bit, trying despite the how sick it made him feel to entice the man, not push him away. "I'm here now, Desi. Why don't we meet somewhere to…talk? It's been a long time since I got to see you last." Dropping his voice a little more, giving it a warm, intimate feel, he said "I'd really like to see you."

" _Ah, ah, ah. I am not stupid, Spencer. Do not treat me like I am. We shall meet in my time, on my terms. But first, I think you've gotten just who exactly you are dealing with. I thought my gift would help with that, but it appears you need a more solid reminder of who is in charge here, and what happens to those who think to cross me._ " He chuckled and Spencer's blood ran cold. " _Remember, I did not want to do this._ "

Spencer's hands curled over the edge of the table and all signs of playing along faded away. "Don't you hurt him." He leaned forward, eyes pinned on the phone. "Dammit, Desi, don't hurt him!"

The only answer he got was a click as the call ended.

Fear was like a living thing inside of Spencer. It pushed through him, curled around inside of him and twisted him up in knots. He didn't register Belle's hand once more squeezing at his arm. All he could do was stare at that silent phone. "Did you get anything?" He asked Penelope past lips that felt numb. He knew the answer even before she said a soft "No. I'm sorry, Reid, it just wasn't long enough. I couldn't get enough."

It wasn't her fault. He knew that. None of this was her fault. _It's yours. You knew better than to piss him off and you did it anyways._

The silence was once more broken by the ringing of a phone. Only this time, it wasn't the one on the table—it was Aaron's. The Unit Chief pulled it out and answered it quickly. Spencer didn't really pay any attention, not until he heard the sharp intake of breath. When he looked up, Aaron was just hanging up the phone, and there was something on his face that told Spencer he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"We need to get to the hospital." Aaron said, his words terrifyingly loud in the silent room. "Prentiss was shot."

* * *

By the time they reached the hospital Emily as already in surgery. No one could tell them what was really going on with her or how she was doing. All they could say was that she was in surgery and that they'd let them know as soon as they had any news. Of course. Because hospitals could _never_ tell _anyone_ about _anything_. The thought seethed through Spencer's mind as he stood in the waiting room and held tightly to himself in hopes of holding back the emotions inside of himself. The fear and panic that he'd felt before, the terrifying desperation, were all solidifying into this giant ball of anger that was burning brighter and brighter with each passing moment until he felt like he was barely holding it in, like it would come bursting out of him at the slightest provocation. The very last thing he wanted was for those he cared for to be the ones to have to deal with that kind of fallout.

He blew out a breath and gripped at his sides a little together. When he turned his head, he found Derek watching him, worry in his eyes and not just for Emily. "I'm going to the bathroom." Spencer said flatly, all of his control on keeping calm right now. The look Derek gave him told him that his friend understood.

Spencer kept calm until he made his way to the bathroom. Only once he'd checked the stalls and found them all empty did he finally let go of his iron control. Any of the people out in the waiting room, Belle included, would've been stunned to see the fury that spiked in Spencer as he pulled a move more suited to Derek and slammed his fist into the metal of the paper towel dispenser. One hit turned to two, then three, then four, and it took so much control not to just _scream_. Remy was out there, somewhere, maybe being hurt by Desi _right this minute_ , while down the hall a woman who was like family to him was being treated for a gunshot that she'd gotten all because twelve years ago Spencer had managed to draw the interest of a mentally unstable _bastard_. Gripping the sides of the dispenser, Spencer welcomed the pain in his knuckles, using it to try and ground himself as he bent a little and bowed his head.

He was so focused on his breathing he didn't hear the cell phone ringing in his pocket right away. When he finally did, it felt like his insides froze over. That wasn't his personal phone.

Pulling the phone from his pocket, he stared down at it. He hadn't even realized he'd pocketed it after that call at the BAU. But there it was, the phone Desi had given him, and it was ringing. Only one person called this phone. He flipped it open and brought it to his ear. "You sorry son-of-a-bitch." His voice was low and cold in a way he hadn't realized it could.

" _Now, Spencer, I'm sorry, but I did warn you._ " Desi said smoothly on the other end of the line. " _Do you think I wanted to hurt them?_ "

"I will kill you." Spencer swore quietly. His hand tightened so much on the phone it was a wonder it didn't break. "If you did all this to make me want to be with you, you went about it all wrong, because when I see you, I'm going to kill you. I swear it to you on my life." Never had he meant anything more than he did that.

" _Don't make me have to hurt him to press my point home further, my hear. You've been appropriately punished for things. Now, it's time to start over. You'll come around to my view soon enough._ "

"You keep your hands off of him." Spencer snarled.

" _If you want him alive, you'll come to me. Alone. No one else has to die_."

Five minutes later, Spencer was slipping out of the bathroom. He could see his team in the distance, Belle sitting at Derek's side. He as lucky she wasn't facing this way, he knew. That wouldn't last long. She'd be trying to watch for him to come back out. Right then, that was the last thing he needed. Before she could look up and see him, he ducked behind a group of people that were passing by, using them as cover to move just the few feet down the hall to the stairs. Once inside the staircase and out of view, he was moving quickly.

The staircase dropped him down into the main lobby right by the ER. After a quick deliberation, Spencer dipped into their. The sea of people provided him with an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

By the time he reached the opposite side of the room, he had a sweater and a baseball cap in his hands. Neither one would be missed by their worried owners for a little while, he'd bet. Ducking out of the way, he pulled off his sweater vest and button up shirt, leaving him in a plain white undershirt, and dropped them into the trash. Then he pulled the sweater on. Next he gathered up his hair, twisting it and pressing it to his head, and he pulled the baseball cap on over it, pinning down his hair. When he walked out of the hospital, he looked nothing like the man who had walked in. His messenger bag was still upstairs and his gun was easily hidden under the baggy sides of the sweater. Hopefully it'd be enough to fool whatever guards Belle had out here.

Someone, somewhere, was smiling down on him. There was a cab waiting outside with occupants that were just climbing out. It was easy to take their place inside

He was pulling away from the hospital before anyone even knew he was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

The house that Desi had told Spencer to come to was on the outskirts of DC. He wasn't really surprised when he arrived to find that it was a large bit of property, private, secluded enough to have the privacy one would need when they're holding someone hostage. Tucked up on a hill, hidden by trees, Spencer looked over the place. It was easily a ten million dollar home, maybe more. Just the extravagant sort of thing that an idiot like Desi would buy. A voice in Spencer's head chuckled and pointed out that, under better circumstances, it was a home Remy would've enjoyed too.

The house itself was three stories. Four, if you counted the basement, which Spencer most definitely did. That, he knew, would be his best bet for where Remy would be being held at. In what little he'd been able to dig up on the place—done with just a smart phone and forty minute ride in the back of cab—had given him the general layout. Nowhere near enough to go on if this had been a professional job. But it wasn't. This was, by far and above, the single most important job he was ever going to go on. He had to do this right. If he was caught, if he messed up, it wasn't going to be jail time, and it wasn't going to be his life on the line, either.

So caught up in his plans, Spencer heard the sound almost a second too late. He didn't let himself stop and think, simply reacted on instinct, drawing his weapon and spinning around. The person who materialized from the shadows was the last person that Spencer had expected to see. It was a man, about three inches taller than him, with a fighter's build like Remy, slender and yet strong. He was almost impossible to see at first because he was clothed almost entirely in black. The only bit of his face that was visible was his eyes; he had a hood pulled low and a mask covering the bottom half of his face. He held up his hands in a sign of peace as he stepped out of the shadows. "Calm, M. LeBeau, I mean no harm." The man said. There was just a slight hint of the south to his voice. It was more the sound of someone who wasn't from there, but had lived there long enough to start picking up the sounds. Hearing that sound made Spencer pause, but it was the use of the name 'LeBeau' that really got him.

The man stopped a few feet in front of him, hands still held up peacefully. He moved one hand, and Spencer adjusted his aim in obvious warning. The guy said nothing, just grabbed his hood and pulled it back. Then he caught his muffler and pulled it down until his whole face could be seen. Spencer blew out a soft breath and lowered his gun. He recognized that face. The blond haired, blue eyed man was Rey, one of the Thieves that he'd met the other night. The one that seemed to be in charge of the group of Thieves that Jean-Luc had sent up. "It's Reid, not LeBeau." Spencer said with a sigh. "What are you doing here, Rey?"

"I saw you leave the hospital and followed you here."

"Great. Just, great."

"Don't worry; no one else saw us. I kept your trail clear. I'm assuming that this Desi called you and set this up?"

There was no point in denying anything. Rey had followed him here and the man wasn't just going to leave. He was loyal to Remy, Spencer knew. The head of Remy's personal guard back home, a talented thief who, Belle had told him, would probably one day lead Remy's guard when Remy took over as Guildmaster. There wasn't any real chance that the Thief was going to leave just because Spencer ordered him to. He didn't need to waste time arguing with him about it either. "Yes, Desi set up a meeting, which he requested I come to _alone_ , so I need you to keep from being seen."

"Absolutely." Rey agreed immediately.

"I'm not going to force you to stay behind and I'm not going to force you to come with me." Spencer told him. "But we're going to do things _my way._ So, you get two choices here. You can come with me, on the condition that you do exactly as I tell you, when I tell you, and that includes once we reach Remy." He tacked on that last bit quickly, wanting to make absolutely sure it was understood. "He may be your boss, but if you come in with me, you listen to _me_ , not him."

In a sign of good intelligence, Rey didn't immediately agree, but instead arched one eyebrow and said "Or?"

Spencer raised his gun again, taking aim at the man's thigh. "Or I shoot you in the leg and you wait here until help arrives. I'll leave you something with which to apply pressure, so you won't bleed out before the ambulance arrives. Painful, but you'll be alive, and you'll heal well."

He could see that he'd surprised Rey with his threat. He could also see something else that looked like respect on his face. The Thief clenched his right hand into a fist and pressed it against his heart before bowing lightly to Spencer. It was a sign of great respect, a sign usually given to a leader, not to the random husband of a soon-to-be Guildmaster. Spencer knew what kind of respect he was being shown here and he didn't treat it lightly. Rey may be coming in to help him of his own free will, but by taking him on, by agreeing to let him come and putting himself in charge, Spencer had just accepted the responsibility for this man. For keeping him safe and getting him out alive. It'd been a long time since he was in charge of anything like that. Trying to push back his unease at being in this position again, he lowered his weapon once more, this time holstering it at his side. "All right. Let's get this figured out and get Remy home, then."

Rey straightened up from his bow and nodded. He moved up to Spencer's side and stood so that he, too, could view the house ahead.

Standing there, Spencer laid out the plan that he'd built so far, adjusting it accordingly as he spoke to accommodate the new person in the mix. It made a few things simpler and a few options available that wouldn't have been before. He was pleased when Rey didn't just accept his words at face value, or dismiss them outright. The Thief listened, nodding here and there, and offering a suggestion or two. By the time they had their plan laid out, the two were both much more relaxed than before. They shared a soft smile, nodding at each in silent understanding, bonded in that moment under a joint cause.

Spencer shed the sweater and baseball cap before they went anywhere. He adjusted his gun too, making sure it was secure to his hip. Then he cast a curious and hopeful look Rey's direction. "You wouldn't happen to have a ponytail, would you?"

In lieu of words, Rey simply pulled a leather strip from his pocket. He didn't hand it over, though, but moved to stand behind Spencer, gathering his hair up with quick, agile fingers. "I've done this for Remy many times." The Thief told him when he felt Spencer tense.

A little embarrassed at having someone braid his hair for him, Spencer flushed and stammered out his thanks. "Well, um, thank you."

"Mm. Of course." Rey said. His fingers moved nimbly through Spencer's hair, braiding quickly and efficiently. He was almost done when he suddenly said "May I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

There was only a small hesitation before Rey asked his question. "Would you really have shot me?"

Oh, that. Flushing a little more, and blessing the dark, Spencer gave a small shake of his head. "Absolutely not." Sneaking a look up as Rey tied off the end of his braid, he flashed a brief smile. "But you thought I would and that was all that mattered."

Laughter flashed in Rey's blue eyes. "Remy said you were a sneaky one."

"Let's see just how sneaky we can be." They were ready. Time to get this show on the road. Spencer drew in a deep breath and sought that inner calm that Remy had taught him to find all those years ago. That place inside that helped shut off all the worries and fears and allowed you to focus totally on the job ahead. When he opened his eyes again, Spencer smiled. "Let's go bring Remy home."

* * *

Getting into the house took some skills that Spencer hadn't used for a long time. While he was in charge of this little mission, he had no qualms about letting Rey come to the front and help direct them in. The Thief was good at what he did and he had a ton more experience than Spencer did. The two had no trouble using the trees and other foliage to slip up to the side of the house near what Spencer's research had told him was the servants' quarters. There, he ceded the lead over to Rey, and within moments the Thief had them inside.

Now, these quarters or the basement were their best bet on finding Remy. Spencer was betting on the basement but that didn't mean that he was going to just ignore these quarters as they passed through them. He and Rey moved quickly and carefully down the hall, testing and checking doors, listening for any sounds of life. They stopped at one hall, just barely catching sight of a camera before it would've caught them. The camera was guarding the entrance to the basement—the _only_ entrance. There were windows down in the basement, but getting in or out a window would set off an alarm, he was sure of that. He didn't have to know the specs of Desi's alarm system to know he'd have sensors on his windows, especially around wherever Remy was being held. It had all been factored in to Spencer's plan, even if Spencer hadn't quite shared all those details with Rey. There was a reason he'd gotten Rey's promise to obey anything he told him to do.

A hand gesture showed Rey what Spencer wanted him to do. Getting a short nod in return, he braced himself and prepared to move. As soon as they got in front of that camera, they'd be on the clock.

At Spencer's silent signal, they moved.

It took them only fifteen seconds to emerge into the hall and get through the basement door. The fact that the door wasn't locked was worrisome but not something that Spencer hadn't anticipated. He knew what it meant and was already prepared to handle it. They shut the door behind themselves and Spencer left Rey to try and wedge the door shut, granting them just a little more time, while Spencer made his way down the stairs.

A whisper of movement off to the side, just a slight displacement of air, was all the warning he got. Instinct had him ducking down and just narrowly avoiding what would've been a solid blow to the head. He didn't let himself hesitate at all. Even as he went down low to avoid the hit, he was twisting and turning himself, leg snaking outwards in a quick sweep. His reaction surprised the guard and the man tumbled down. Spencer was moving, quick and light, remembering everything Remy had taught him about close-quarters fighting. _"_ _Y'r smaller dan most people, cher, an light, too. Y' aint gonna win in a fight of strength. So y' gotta use y'r size to y'r advantage, and y' gotta use y'r brain."_ That was what he did. He moved quickly, twisting past the guard's attempt at a hit, and in a flash he was up by his head with his gun out of its holster and pressed against the man's temple. No one had said he had to fight fair. The other guy wasn't firing, sure, but Spencer would use every advantage he had.

The guard froze underneath him at the first touch of the gun. Holding still, Spencer stared down at him, and he let all the anger and rage that he'd built up flash over his eyes, giving him a dangerous look. Then he asked one simple question "Where is he?"

With the dig of the gun into his temple, this guy obviously believed his life was at stake here, just as Spencer wanted. In a choice between giving up a prisoner that he probably hated guarding, and pissing off an employer that it would appear he held no serious loyalty to, or dying, the guard made the only choice. He lifted one hand and pointed down towards the far end of the room. "In there. But you aint gonna get far. They'll be on you before you can ever get outta here."

Without even bothering to answer, Spencer twisted his grip on the gun and, lighting fast, brought it up and slammed the butt of it back down, knocking the guy out. He was just pushing up to his feet as Rey came over to him. The Thief looked down at the unconscious guard and then up at Spencer, giving an approving nod. "I'll secure the guard." He promised.

That freed Spencer. He didn't wait another second; grabbing the key ring off the guards belt, he turned and darted towards the far end of the room, gun still held at the ready.

What he found when he broke into the room had him wanting to cry out.

Remy—his gorgeous, wonderful, amazing _Remy_. He was there, _alive_ , and Spencer hadn't been able to completely stop the fear that he'd get here and find that Remy was dead, that Desi had killed him already, and seeing that it wasn't true, being able to actually see the rise and fall of the Cajun's chest, filled him with so much relief his legs almost gave out underneath him. At the same time, he wanted to scream, to cry, at what had been done to him. Remy was standing against the wall of this little room that had been turned into some horror show of a cell. He was being held against the wall by solid looking metal shackles that were attached directly to the wall, without a chain. It pinned his wrists in place on either side of his head and, oh sweet God, there was one around his throat as well, a hard metal collar that kept his head firmly in place. How long had they kept him like this? How long had he been forced to stand here, to keep pressed against the wall this way? Had he been like this for the full month? The thought was devastating.

It was obvious his time here hadn't treated him well. His hair hung greasy and loose around his head, jagged uneven bits lying over his face. What little of his face that Spencer could see showed bruising around his eyes, his jaw, and a bloody split on his lip. The rest of his body wasn't any better. Clad only in jeans and a dirty tank, he was a mess of blood and bruises. Each one that Spencer saw only sent his guilt and anger higher and higher. Desi hadn't just kept him here. He'd _hurt_ him. There was blood on Remy's wrists to show where he'd struggled against his bonds, blood staining part of his shirt and hell if Spencer wasn't terrified to find out what had caused that.

He'd been standing there staring for too long and he might've stayed there even longer if Remy hadn't suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse and biting, though his eyes never opened. "Y'r awfully quiet today. Enjoy staring at y'r handy work, y' _connard_?"

The sound of Remy's voice was like a punch right to Spencer's gut and he couldn't stop the pained sound he made.

Remy's eyes snapped open at that sound and they shot directly to Spencer, brighter and more coherent than he'd expected the injured Cajun to be. When they landed on him, they went wide with shock and Remy's mouth actually dropped open. " _Bon Dieu…_.Spencer?"

That was finally enough to get Spencer moving again. Hearing Remy say his name broke through the paralysis that had overcome him and had him darting forward. Every part of him wanted to cup Remy's face, to touch that skin and feel him, know that he really was alive. His whole body _ached_ for it. But he had to settle for simply cupping one hand against Remy's cheek and leaning in, just briefly, to press their foreheads together, their noses brushing against one another. "Remy." He murmured, his voice a soft whisper between them.

"How…how'd y'…"

"Shh." Spencer murmured. As much as it pained him, he pulled back. They were on a time limit and he'd already wasted so much of that time. Lifting shaky hands, he tried to force them steady as he sifted through the key ring to try and find the key that would set his husband free. "We don't have a lot of time." Ah! There. That was the only key that looked small enough to fit these locks. Somewhere outside their room came the sounds of thuds and thumps, someone trying to get in through the blocked door, and it brought home just how little their time was. His hands were steadier now as he unhooked Remy's wrist. He winched sympathetically at the hiss Remy gave when the metal released. The bruised and bleeding flesh that was revealed underneath was enough to push his rage up a little higher.

He was unhooking Remy's neck next when Rey poked his head in the door. "They're almost through. Three and a half, tops."

"Rey?" Remy croaked. His throat was free now and he was leaning heavily on Spencer, a little more heavily than Spencer liked. It made him worry more. Shifting a knee to rest between Remy's, he allowed the man to rest against him and reached for his next wrist.

Rey flashed a quick grin at Remy, looking both relieved and pleased to see him. "Good to see you, boss-man." The teasing title brought a hint of a smile to Remy's lips.

A particularly loud thud sounded just as Spencer unhooked Remy's other wrist. He caught his husband as Remy's weight dropped down on him. With a little grunt of effort, Spencer held him up, but his eyes turned to Rey. "Did you find what we need?"

"Right outside the door." Rey said, all playfulness vanishing from his voice.

"Good." Turning back to Remy, Spencer lifted one hand and cupped the side of his face, tipping his head up. He couldn't help himself—he had to indulge, just a little. Just a brief rub of nose against nose, a light ghost of a kiss. There was so much he wanted to say right then, so many things that were aching to come out, and no time for any of it. Shivering, he drew back a little, met Remy's wide, confused eyes and tried to smile at him. "Be safe." He said softly. Then, before Remy could protest, Spencer was turning and he gestured to Rey, who immediately came forward. Remy's confusion grew as Rey helped brace him up, taking his weight from Spencer. "What're y' doing?" Remy demanded lowly, one hand trying and failing to grasp at Spencer's shirt.

Spencer took a breath and then met Rey's eyes. "Get him out of here."

The two ignored the raspy protests that fell from Remy's lips. Weak as he was, the Cajun couldn't put up any real fight as Rey practically carried him out of the room and over to a section of wall that housed the only window down here that might be big enough to get them out. "There'll be guards out there." Spencer reminded the Thief, speaking overtop Remy's continued protests. "He'll have backup."

Never stopping, Rey nodded. "Once we're out in open space, we'll handle them." To back up that point, he pulled something from his pocket and pressed it into Remy's hands; it was a deck of cards. Then he winked at Spencer. "Besides, so do I."

That drew a startled laugh from Spencer. He should've figured. Even if the other Thieves hadn't showed up with Rey, he should've figured they would at some point. "You might've mentioned that earlier. We could've used the help."

"They're doing good where they are."

There was another solid thud on the door. Whatever Rey had done wouldn't hold much longer. They'd be through any minute. Spencer and Rey both quickened their movements. The window was high up and with Remy injured the way he was, it was going to be tricky to get him up there. Rey broke the glass and was out the window first and then reached back in, arms outstretched for the Cajun. Just as Spencer was preparing to help lift Remy up, the man managed to make one of his hands move enough to weakly grab hold of Spencer's chin. Then he leaned in and gave Spencer a firm kiss that tasted of dirt, blood, sweat, and Remy. When they broke apart, Spencer gaped at him—they'd shared a kiss here and there when Remy had come to see him over the years when he'd be in the hospital, but never something so strong, so passionate, and never with that much lust to it—while Remy glared. "If y' get y'rself killed b'fore we get to have life-affirming sex, I'm gonna be pissed." He snarled.

Spencer let out a startled laugh. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

With a bit of grunts and groans and a lot of pain, he got Remy up to the window, and Rey did the rest, pulling him through. Not a moment too soon, either. Remy was still only halfway out when the door finally broke open.

Spencer lifted his gun and took aim, only to watch as Desi came alone down the stairs. Not a single guard came with him. Spencer arched an eyebrow at that but said nothing as Desi made his way towards him. The room was silent as the man stopped a good six feet away from Spencer. There were no more noises from behind him, telling Spencer that Remy was out the window, and there were no noises from upstairs, telling him that the guards weren't doing anything up there. Tipping his head a little, Spencer looked over the man he hadn't seen face to face in twelve years, a man who had tried his damndest to ruin his life all because of some deranged urge to _own_ him. "Hello, Desi."

A wide smile stretched over Desi's face. "Hello, Spencer. It's a pleasure to see you again."

The scary part was, he looked like he meant it, too. Like he was honestly pleased to be standing in this dark basement with him. Like Spencer standing there glaring, pointing a gun at him was just no big deal.

"I can't exactly say the same." Adjusting his stance, Spencer snuck a look over towards the door again, then back to Desi. "You came down here alone?"

"My men have gone to join the others. They were waiting in the yard for your friends, I hope you know. We've been watching you from the minute you unlocked the door."

"I know." Spencer said. Amusement lit Desi's eyes. Seeing it, Spencer chuckled. "What? You think I didn't know? You knew I was coming, just as you knew I'd try something. Of _course_ you were going to be watching out for me. But I knew you wouldn't stop me. That's too simple. You wanted to toy with me first. Play your little game. You let me come down here, let me think that I'd won, because that would make your subsequent victory all the sweeter. Am I right?"

Desi lifted his hands and gave Spencer a slow clap. "Well done, my dear. Well done. You are as bright as I remembered."

"But you miscalculated on a few things, Desi."

"Is that so?"

"You came down here without your guards. That was your first mistake."

The man let out another of those low laughs of his, the ones that sent a shiver down Spencer's spine, and not the good kind. "Why? You will not hurt me. And my men were so looking forward to bringing back their favorite guest."

A spark of rage flashed through Spencer. He had to remind himself that he hadn't heard any sounds of trouble through the window and that Rey would make sure Remy was safe. He had backup out there. Backup that Spencer hadn't even known about. He had to believe that they would be okay. But listening to Desi casually make his threats… "That was your second mistake."

"What?" Desi asked, looking at him curiously.

"Assuming I'm not a threat."

The horror of this past month flashed through Spencer's mind, the pain and the anger, the fear, the gut-wrenching _terror_ of it all. Images of that package he'd received, of what Remy had looked like when he'd found him in here, of the pain written all over him, and the solid weight of their rings resting against his chest. All of that flashed through Spencer's mind. Without a single qualm, he lowered his hand and pulled the trigger, sending the bullet ripping through Desi's thigh. In later days, it would worry him to remember just how much pleasure he got out of watching the man go down, hearing him scream as he clutched at the wound in his leg. At the time, he was too busy enjoying it, thinking that this was nothing compared to what he had been able to see had been done to Remy.

Moving forward, Spencer stopped just a foot away, and he adjusted his aim once more until it was pointing right at Desi's head. He waited for the pained sounds to die down before he spoke. "You took away the single most important person in my world, Desi. You took him and you hurt him. Just because you seem to think, for some reason, that you own me. That I'm yours. That was your biggest mistake—taking him. I will do anything, _anything_ , to protect those I love."

"You are mine!" Desi spat at him. He was clutching his leg, staring up at Spencer with a stunned look on his face, like he still couldn't quite believe that Spencer had actually shot him. "He's just got you blinded with that power of his! If it wasn't for that Cajun bastard, we could be together. I could give you such a better life!"

"All of the money in the world couldn't make me want to be with you. I'm not yours, Desi, and I never was. I'm his. I always have been and I always will be. And you hurt him." The threat in Spencer's voice was obvious there, his fury leaking through.

Desi's eyes widened just slightly before he got himself under control once more. The dynamic here had shifted so much from what he'd planned. This was nothing like what he thought it would be. "You can't kill me. You're a federal agent."

"I'm not here as an agent."

It was true. He wasn't here as SSA Reid. Hence why he'd come without his team. A team which, if his calculations were right, would be here soon. It wouldn't have taken long for Penelope to track his phone once they realized he was gone. The team would follow. It was why he'd left his phone on, after all. But he needed this done before they got here.

Some of his thoughts must've showed on his face because Desi abruptly switched tones, his voice turning pleading. "Come, Spencer. Think about this."

"I have thought about this." Spencer said softly. "Since the minute I found out you were behind all of this, I've been thinking about this very moment in the back of my mind. Building scenarios, trying to figure out how things would go, what would happen. If I let them take you to jail, would you even be prosecuted? Would you even see the inside of a cell? If I let you walk, how long would it take before you tried again? I thought this out in every way possible. And do you know what conclusion I came to?" Spencer tipped his head just slightly to the side and shifted his stance, raising his gun once more. "Short of killing you, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from coming back and trying this again. And next time, what's to stop you from trying to hurt someone else I love? My mother, my friends, my Godson? I can't let that happen. I won't."

"You won't make it out of here alive."

"I'll take my chances."


	11. Chapter 11

It went against everything in Remy to walk away from that basement and leave his husband down there alone with a madman. He trusted Spencer and he trusted him to have a plan, he really did, he just didn't trust that the plan was going to take Spencer best interests into account. The man had always had a way of protecting himself last in any plan that they built. It was why Remy always made sure to go over plans with him. Spencer looked out for them both, or the whole team, depending on who they were with. Remy looked out for them all, and he looked out for Spencer.

There wasn't much time for him to worry, though. He was barely out into the yard, leaning heavily on Rey, when forms started to melt out of the shadows. Immediately he tensed up, hand gripping tightly to the deck Rey had given him, only to relax when he saw who it was. The group of Thieves slid silently up to them and Remy recognized Stevie, a woman who could be counted as Rey's second-in-command, as she took the front. "Guards are taken care of an we've got a clear path out to de driveway."

"Good. There'll be more coming from inside." Rey warned.

The Thieves made a loose circle around the two of them, each one pausing as they passed to brush fingers over Remy's arm, to give him a warm look of welcome, a silent communication that was all they could afford out in the field.

The sound of a gunshot filled the air.

Low curses fell from Remy's lips and he was halfway turned around before he even realized what he was doing. All his brain could think of was one word, over and over. _No_.

The arm Rey had around him stopped him from going too far. Tugging against it, heedless of his injuries, Remy snapped "Let go of me!" He had to get back there, had to see if that had been his Spencer that was—he had to see! Rey didn't give him a chance, though. The minute Remy resisted his hold, the Thief didn't waste any time and simply used that strength that was so surprising on such a slender frame and he picked Remy up off his feet and started walking. No matter how careful Rey was, there was no way he could do it without hurting Remy, and later on Remy would insist that the pain was the only reason that Rey was able to get him around to the front of the house. It wasn't until Rey set him down and propped him up against one of the big SUV's there that Remy was finally able to breathe past the pain and find his voice again, wheezy and short though it was. "We need to go back."

"No can do, boss man." Rey told him firmly. With a few hand gestures, he sent a few of the other Thieves off to make sure their trail was covered and had the remaining two standing as guards.

"No can do?" Wrapping one arm around his waist to try and hold together his aching ribs, Remy fought to breathe past the pain, something he'd become quite adept at over the years and that he'd gained lots of practice in this past month. Still, not even the pain was enough to keep the sharpness from his words or the heated glare off his face. "Unless some insane shit happened while he was gone, Gambit still outranks y', T'ief."

Rey, the _connard_ , didn't look the least bit perturbed by Remy's words or by his glare. "Yep." He said easily, eye scanning the darkness around him before settling on Remy. "But your husband's a smart, sneaky bastard, and he made me swear to follow his orders, even over yours. Offered me that, or a calculated shot to the leg to make sure I stayed behind."

Annoyance and pride warred together inside of Remy. Even in his worry, he couldn't stop the soft smile that ghosted over his lips. That sounded like his Spencer. He was the sweetest, kindest man you'd ever meet, right up until you messed with someone important to him. It was nice to see that even after all these years, even with the few visits they'd had together in that time, he was still that damn important to him. Their marriage hadn't been one of love, but there was no one that Remy loved more. Time had only cemented that view. And that was why he had to get back in there, now! Spencer and Desi were in there, alone, and _Dieu_ , he had to know who that shot had hit. He had to.

Sound in the distance had Remy looking up, groaning a little as his body protested the movement.

Rey heard it too, but he reacted much differently. A sharp whistle rent the air that Remy knew and recognized—retreat. It was the retreat call they used when people were showing up and it was time to fall back without being seen. Soon as he let it out, Rey turned himself fully towards Remy. "We've got to bolt. Spencer has plans in place and I don't know all of them. He just said to tell you that we can't be seen, an that when the Feds show up to remember Prague. He said you'd understand."

Remy did understand. He remembered Prague clearly and he knew what Spencer wanted. It wasn't a reference to the place—it was one of their old code words. Nodding, he gestured with his chin. "Go." Sending away the Thieves was smart and if Spencer hadn't already planned for it, Remy would've told them to go anyways. No point in getting any of them caught up in this. Whatever was going on it was obvious that Spencer wasn't here under a Bureau approved op. That much was extremely clear. No need for any Thieves to get arrested and brought in for whatever was going down here tonight. As much as Remy hated for Spencer to have to take the fall for all of this, for whatever the hell was going on, he had to trust the man's plan. He had to.

It really wasn't all that hard to do what Spencer wanted him to. Prague meant for him to play dumb with the cops, to play up his injuries and act like he knew nothing. Considering how much he hurt, it was pretty simple to let them all think it was worse than it was. Honestly, he was a little afraid that it wasn't all that much acting.

It was, however, one of the hardest things ever to let them put him into the back of that ambulance while agents swarmed Desi's house. He wanted to stay here, to know for sure that Spencer was alive and well. But he had to play his part. He had to do what Spencer needed him to do. To break the part he was supposed to play could have unforeseen consequences. Especially since he didn't know Spencer's plan. He just had to trust and hope and pray with everything inside of him.

The drugs the paramedics gave him helped. A lot. He'd tried to protest them at first, citing allergies, but the one medic openly told him that the agents had given them a list of medications his husband had approved and ones that he was allergic to. The shock of them using the word 'husband' kept him quiet and still enough for them to stick his arm.

In no time he was drifting, floating on a sea of medication.

* * *

The next time he surfaced, his head no longer clouded by any kind of drugs, it was to find himself in a hospital bed with Belle sitting at his side. Her chair was scooted close to the bed and she was looking down at her phone with a fierce intensity that had him grateful he wasn't the person on the other end that was apparently pissing her off. He knew that look well and it always meant trouble. Usually trouble that involved quite a bit of bloodshed. Hs eyes drifted past her, looking for the one face he'd really been hoping to see when he woke.

He must've made some kind of noise because suddenly her head snapped up and he found himself pinned in place by the intense look in those icy eyes. He smiled weakly at her and was rewarded with a smile far warmer than many would credit her capable of. The phone in her hand was snapped shut and slid into her pocket and then she was turning fully to face him. Some of that soft look faded away and her usually sassy little smirk slid in place. "About time y' woke up, y' lazy Cajun. I was getting tired of sitting at y'r bedside."

"Was y' watching me sleep, _ma chere_?" Remy croaked out hoarsely.

Immediately Belle was moving, rising from her chair and grabbing a cup and pitcher from a nearby table. She brought the cup back over and, much to his annoyance, slid one hand behind his head and helped to brace him as she brought the cup to his lips. The bed was raised so he wasn't lying flat, but she still helped to prop his head up enough that they wouldn't make a mess. When it looked like he might protest, she glared down at him. "Shut up and take little drinks."

"How long?" Remy asked once she laid his head back down.

"Half a day since dey brought y' in." She told him, setting down the cup. Then she hitched a hip up on the edge of the bed, forgoing the chair completely, and she carefully caught up the hand closest to her, holding it lightly and resting it on her leg. Her thumb ran lightly over his palm in an old comforting gesture between them. "Y' been out f' a good ten hours since dey brought y' to y'r room. Dey treated y' first while y' were still out." Because she knew him well, she listed off the injuries for him, making sure he knew what was there. "Y'r left wrist was broken. It's not too bad, though. De cast is on and it should heal up just fine if y' take care of it right. Both of y'r wrists were pretty tore up, though. De right one took a few stitches to keep it from scarring too much. De rest is just a lot of bruises and some random stitches, plus a couple broken ribs. Y've had worse."

Remy snorted at that. Almost instantly, he regretted it as his aching face protested the movement.

"De doctors want to keep y' here f' a while." Belle continued on, ignoring his snort and subsequent grimace. Injuries weren't uncommon in their world and she'd been honest when she said he'd had worse. "Y'r malnourished an dehydrated. Dey've got y' hooked up to fluids here and dey want to watch y'r diet and make sure y'r healing well b'fore dey let y' go. Y'r doctor's a pretty decent _homme_. He's human, but he's pro-mutant, and he's been vetted, so we know he's safe."

As much as Remy could appreciate the importance of all of this, there was one thing that Belle wasn't telling him and it was the one thing he needed to know more than anything else. His injuries could wait, any worries about Desi and that entire mess could wait, all of it could just _wait_ until he had the answer to one very important question. "Where's Spencer?"

The look that flashed over her face had Remy's whole body going tense. His muscles went on lockdown and he swore he felt his heart freeze in his chest. It hadn't, though. He knew that because he could hear the heart monitor register it as it actually beat faster, harder. Belle caught it too and she hurriedly told him the two words he needed to start breathing again. "He's alive." She gave his hand a light squeeze, and some of the coolness faded from her eyes, showing the affection that was reserved for those closest to her. "He's alive, Rem."

"Where is he?" Because, if he was alive, why wasn't he here? And why had Belle reacted like that?

"He's back at de Bureau, last I heard." She looked like she was debating for a moment and Remy had to fight the urge to demand that she tell him right the hell now what was going on. She must've read the impatience on his face because she blew out a breath and glared at him. "Don't give me dat look, Remy Etienne LeBeau."

"Den quit tryin' to bullshit me, Belle, an tell me what de hell's going on!"

"I don't know, exactly. No one's talking. But…" Blowing out a breath, she sat up a little straighter and her look grew a bit more serious. "Rem, Desi's dead."

Shit. Shit, shit, _shit_! Immediately Remy started to push up on his bed, trying to get into more of a sitting position. The firm press of Belle's hand against his aching chest was all it took to keep him down. He'd be embarrassed about that later when there was room to think beyond the worry. "What de hell do y' think y'r doing?" Belle demanded sharply.

"I aint waiting round here." Remy spat back at her. "I gotta call a lawyer…"

"No, y' don't."

He looked up at her like she was stupid. How could she not understand this? "Y' know as well as I do, if Desi's dead…"

" _Couillon_!" She deliberately pressed on his chest to silence him, her glare freezing even more. Her voice lowered to a low, private hiss. "Use what little brain y' have in dere, LeBeau! Y've got no idea what went down and no idea what's happening right now. Whatever went on dere, Spencer went in wit' a plan. Y' and I both know he never goes into anything wit'out a plan! De last thing he needs is y' sending in a lawyer and potentially screwing it all up." With one last push, she sat up straight, though her glare stayed just as col and just as sharp. "De only thing y' can do right now is lay here and recover. He'll come see y' as soon as he can, y' know dat."

Dammit, he did know that. He also knew that she was right. Anything he did right now could seriously screw up whatever it was that Spencer had going on. He did go into things with plans, he always did, and Remy had to trust it.

Lying back in his bed, he let his eyes drift closed and tried not to think about the look in those gorgeous eyes when they said goodbye back in the place that had been Remy's prison. Over and over, he said one thing, holding on to it tightly. _Please let him be okay._ It was the same prayer he'd been saying ever since his capture, ever since he'd learned why he'd been taken. _Please let him be okay._

* * *

Remy wasn't the only one worrying. There was group of people that shared some of the same worries over at the Bureau. One of them in particular was extremely worried. Derek stood in front of the window that looked into their interview room and wished with everything in him that he didn't have to see his friend on the other side. The whole thing just felt _wrong_. It wasn't that it was strange to see Spencer there through the glass; Derek just wasn't used to seeing him on that side of the table. He looked, small. Small and—it made Derek's stomach twist and his heart clench a little— _scared_. It went against everything in him to stand back like this while his best friend looked scared. Oh, he was trying to cover it up, but it was still showing.

He had to give him credit, though. Scared though he may be, he was staying calm despite this criminal still questioning. This wasn't the first time that Spencer had told his story since they'd come back from the crime scene. It was, however, the first time that Derek was going to see it.

The agent doing the interview, Agent Ronald Dupree, had been at the Bureau a while and he had a bit of a reputation as a hardass. He was doing the interview like any other, though, walking Spencer through what had happened at the hospital. For the first time Derek got to hear about the phone call that had sent Spencer running. "It was all I could think to do." Spencer said, spreading his hands out to either side in a silent appeal. "I couldn't let anyone else be hurt because of me."

That was Spencer, through and through. He could never let anyone be hurt because of him.

"So, what did you do next?"

"I slipped out of the bathroom, took the stairs down to the main floor and used the crowd in the ER to slip outside. When I got out there, people were just getting out of the cab. I paid the driver to take me to the location that Desi had given me." Spencer folded his hands back down into his lap and he looked just a tiny bit nervous here, which made perfect sense to Derek. He was where he'd really started to do the things that could get him in trouble.

The door to Derek's left opened and he looked over to see Aaron and Dave coming in. Dave shut the door quietly behind him. Neither one said anything as they joined Derek at the window; they didn't want to interrupt Spencer, who had started speaking again.

"I had the cab driver drop me off a little ways away from the location…"

"Why?" Ronald asked.

"Because I knew that it was a trap." Spencer told him simply. "If I went straight to the door, Desi would have me and there was no way he was going to just let Remy go." In short, simple terms, he described to them how he slipped onto the property and used the coverage in the yard to slip up to the side entrance, which he found unlocked. He kept his voice professional, just as he would on any other case, and so far there was nothing that Derek could see that he'd really done wrong. Or, any more wrong than going in alone. Even his takedown of the guard had been simple, with minimal violence. He hadn't shot the man. Just knocked him unconscious and restrained him. Not the best, but not bad, either.

Watching him talk about how he'd found Remy was heartbreaking. Here, real emotion broke through, and if Derek hadn't known before that Spencer loved this man, he would've been able to see it now in the way that Spencer's voice cracked, in how he tugged at his fingers in a gesture he used when deep in thought or really upset, and in the love that was written all over his face.

He told them how he'd gotten Remy free and boosted him out the window. And then came the part of the night that everyone was most interested in…

"I'd just gotten Remy out the window when the door finally broke open." Spencer said. A small shudder ran down him and he closed his eyes, visibly gathering his composure. When he opened them again he looked calm once more. He looked every inch the agent they knew him to be. "I drew my weapon and ordered him to stand down. When I asked him where his guards were, he told me that he was sending them after Remy."

Ronald gave a low hmm and looked down at the folder in his hands. "Reports say that only two have been found. If there were any other guards, we've discovered none."

"I don't know. I only saw the one guard I dealt with."

"All right. What happened next?"

"We spoke for a bit. I tried to talk him down, to get him to come peacefully. But he was…unstable." Spencer bit the inside of his lip and shifted a little in his seat in obvious discomfort. And was it any wonder? This guy had been so damn obsessed with Spencer he'd kidnapped someone important to the kid just to be able to find him! Derek watched, wishing he could offer some kind of comfort, as Spencer tried to settle himself. "Me standing against him that way was pushing the delusion he'd built too far. He was absolutely sure that removing Remy from my life would somehow make me love him. That, once I was no longer under Remy's 'influence', I'd fall for him. When he realized that wasn't going to happen, he became agitated and he tried to rush me. I fired a disabling shot into his leg."

"His leg?"

"He hadn't showed signs of having a weapon. I felt it more prudent to simply disable him and then secure him."

"So what happened to change that?"

Derek stood up a little straighter, eyes locked on Spencer. This was the part he'd been waiting for; the most important part of this whole interview. The whole reason that Spencer was still trapped inside of this interview room.

Spencer dropped his hands down into his lap and blew out a breath. He tipped his head a little and his bangs fell down towards his face, though the rest of his hair stayed back in that strange braid he had it in. It gave him a surprisingly young look. He looked like he could pass for a teenager in that moment, with that shaggy hair and the thin face, and still wearing the baggy sweater they'd found him in. "It happened so fast after that." Spencer said slowly. "I told him to stay down and I thought that maybe, maybe he would. Then suddenly he was making a dive for the guard…"

"The one that you had earlier knocked unconscious and restrained."

"Yes." Spencer agreed. "I saw that he was going for the guard's gun and I reacted. He pulled the gun and I just, fired."

The world around Derek seemed to freeze. He actually felt it as something inside of him went cold. No, he had to be wrong. He _had_ to be.

He wasn't. He knew he wasn't.

It wasn't something just anyone would've noticed. Not even any regular profiler. Derek only saw it because he'd recently spent a lot of time thinking about Spencer's expressions, about all those little moments over the years where the man had hidden things from them. He'd thought long and hard about it. And while the look on Spencer's face might appear normal to anyone else—hell, just a few days ago it would've seemed normal to Derek, too—he knew what it really was now.

Spencer was lying.

The implications of that had Derek reeling inside. Spencer was lying. Spencer was _lying_.

Lost in that revelation and all that it meant, Derek lost track of the conversation for a moment. But he tuned back in as he heard Ronald saying "No, there was no footage on the cameras."

Confusion had Spencer furrowing his brows, and _God_ , now that he'd seen it he couldn't help but watch closely, wondering what else Spencer was lying about. Was there a hint of falseness to his voice as he said "Are you sure? Desi clearly said he'd been watching my approach on them."

"It looks like a virus in the system. The whole system was destroyed." Ronald said flatly. The agent sat back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other and dropping his hands down into his lap. "You know, Dr. Reid, I have to say that you're handling this all surprisingly well. You don't seem all that broken up about a man's death."

Spencer lifted his eyebrows so high they vanished underneath his bangs and he adopted a look of incredulity. "Am I supposed to be?" Shaking his head, he sat back in his chair as well and the look on his face now clearly showed just how stupid he found Ronald's comment. "Desi D'Amato kidnapped someone very dear to me for the sole purpose of drawing me out so that he could take me and ostensibly kill Remy. The fact that this man is dead is not something I'm going to be 'broken up' about, Agent Dupree. I regret taking a human life, yes, but I do not mourn the life of a man who, in my opinion, doesn't deserve it."

The interview wrapped up quickly after that. In no time it seemed, Ronald was gathering up his file and escorting Spencer out of the room. Derek stayed where he was, staring into the empty room in front of him, trying to process everything that he'd just seen. It took him a few minutes to realize that Dave had left, but Aaron was still there. When he finally did, he looked over at his boss, his friend, and he couldn't think of a single thing to say. Then again, he didn't really have to. One look told him that he wasn't alone in his thoughts. What had gave it away to Aaron, he didn't know, but he could see the knowledge in the man's serious eyes and knew they were both thinking the same thing.

Turning back to face the glass once more, Derek stared at the glass, his earlier worry even stronger than before. What was going to happen now?


	12. Chapter 12

_Sorry, everyone! I was out for a few days with a bad back and couldn't write and then when I got back, I got stuck lol. A big, giant MERCI to AhmoseInarus for the kick in the backside that really got me out of that stuck spot and got this chapter finished :D One more chap to go after this!_

* * *

It was ridiculous to be nervous about seeing Remy again. There was no reason he should be worried or afraid or anything like that. Yet that didn't stop him from feeling that way. Standing in the hallway outside Remy's hospital room, nerves were eating their way through Spencer's stomach. He drew in a breath and carefully blew it back out. He hadn't been this nervous at the crime scene when the team had showed up, or at the Bureau, or in the interview room, or even when he'd had to speak yet again to Straus. No, apparently it took the potential of seeing the person he loved to get him feeling this way. Which was stupid. He hadn't been nervous around Remy since the first time they'd gone to bed together—Spencer's first time. There was no reason to feel like that _now_.

Only, there kind of was. What if Remy was angry with him? What if he was angry about getting caught up and held captive and hurt all because of some rat bastard who had thought he'd had some _right_ to Spencer. Remy had been held for a damn month! Not just held, but hurt. Because of Spencer. He had every single right to be mad.

He was wasting time standing out here, though. He only had a short bit of time here and he couldn't waste it all drowning in his own angst in the hallway. Angry or not, hurt or not, he had to see Remy, no matter how Remy reacted to seeing him.

Turning, Spencer looked at the two guards that had come with him—the only way that the Bureau had agreed to let Spencer leave—and he gave them a small half smile. "Would you two mind waiting out here? If…if he yells at me, I'd rather it be in private."

One of the agents, an Agent Spinner, was someone that Spencer didn't know, but he knew the man's partner. The tall, distinguished man at his side with the warm dark eyes and the salt and pepper hair was Agent Boyd Maxwell, someone that Spencer had talked with on many occasions, someone he'd consulted with. Spinner opened his mouth to protest, but Boyd cut him off. "Go on, Reid."

"We're supposed to watch him." Spinner said sharply, eyes going from Boyd to Spencer and back again.

Rolling his eyes, Boyd gestured for Spencer to go in before he leaned back against the wall and looked at his partner. The last thing Spencer heard as he finally opened the door and went inside was Boyd's dry voice saying "What's he gonna do, jump out a third story window to escape? Give them their moment. He deserves that much…"

The rest of it was lost as the door clicked shut behind Spencer. Not that he would've heard it, anyways. All of his focus was on the man lying in the hospital bed and the stunning pair of eyes that had lifted towards him the minute he'd opened the door. Any of his fears that Remy would be angry at him went out the window as he watched a smile light up Remy's whole face, making those little wrinkles at his eyes and giving him that tiny little dimple that you didn't get to see unless the smile was big and _real_. The happy "Spencer!" was just icing on the cake.

Before Spencer even realized it he was halfway across the room. When Remy opened his arms, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to climb right up into that bed with him and bury himself against the older man. He held on as tightly and carefully as he could, trying to be mindful of the man's injuries, while Remy just didn't seem to give a damn and was yanking Spencer in as close and tight as he could get. "Ah, damn, it's so good to see y'." Remy grumbled against the side of his head, pressing an awkward sideways kiss there. "Y'r all right. Y'r really all right."

"Of course I'm all right." Spencer pulled back, his lips curving into a shaky yet honest smile. When Remy's hands came up, his good one and his casted one, and cupped his cheeks, he nuzzled against Remy's palm, relishing in the warmth and comfort and safety of the most important person in his world. "You're the one I was worried about. I'm so glad you're really all right."

"Remy's always all right." He pushed his hand up, petting back Spencer's hair. It was like he couldn't quite get enough of touching him. Spencer wasn't any better. His hands had somehow ended against Remy's chest, stroking carefully over the thin gown that the hospital had put him in. After so long worrying, it felt like Heaven just to be here, to be able to see him and touch him and know that he may be injured, but he was _alive_.

Remy must've been able to see that on his face or feel something of it in his touch because he gripped at Spencer's hair and pulled him in so that their foreheads were pressed together. "Hey." He murmured, brushing his nose over Spencer's, rubbing them together. "I'm okay. All dis, it'll heal up. I'm okay."

"I am so sorry about this, Remy…"

" _Non,_ none of dat. Dis wasn't y'r fault, y' hear me?"

A small shiver ran down Spencer's body. His eyes drifted shut, long lashes brushing his cheeks. "He took you to get to me, and I didn't even know you were gone until Belle came to me. I should've known, Remy. I should've been there."

"Y' was right where y' needed to be." Remy countered softly. His hand shook a little in Spencer's hair and Spencer knew his injuries were making it hard for him to keep his hand up. Gently, Spencer reached up and took hold of Remy's hand, drawing it out of his hair and down between them. He rubbed the tips of their noses together before sliding them alongside each other, bringing their mouths even closer together until they were practically sharing breath between them. "I've missed you so much, Rem." He whispered against the other man's lips. "I need you to know that. I've missed you and I'm so sorry for this. For all of this."

With his eyes closed, he didn't see the furrow that built in Remy's brow, but he could feel it. "Why does it sound like y'r saying goodbye?"

The question was straight to the point and packed full of worry. Deliberately, he avoided answering it. Instead, he let himself be a little brave, a little daring, and he leaned in that tiny bit of space to lightly brush his lips over Remy's. "I can't stay long." He murmured.

"What? Why?" The furrow in Remy's brow grew deeper and the hand in Spencer's clenched down a bit. "Spencer, what's going on? What are y' planning?"

There was no way he could answer that. Not and keep hold of the calm that he was trying to settle on himself. He stayed in close and kept his voice just as low as before, just a whisper of sound between them. "I have a meeting in about forty five minutes, and I still have to drive back over there. I just wanted to see you first."

"A meeting?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping it won't take too long." There was no way in telling how long it would take or what things would be like afterwards. So much hinged on this meeting. So many things.

"Spencer…what kind of meeting?"

Spencer was saved from having to answer that question by a light rap on the door. He turned his head without separating their foreheads, his eyes opening to watch as the door was cracked and Boyd stuck his head in. There was apology written on his face. "Sorry to cut this short, but we've got to get you back if you wanna make it on time, Reid."

"Thanks, Boyd." Spencer said softly.

The man probably would've gone ahead and shut the door to give them a chance for a private goodbye but Spinner was there beside him and the look on his face clearly said he wasn't leaving. Apparently they'd pushed him as far as he was going to bend on this. Spencer held in his sigh. Once more, he turned himself so that he and Remy were facing each other, noses side by side, and he brushed another kiss across those lips. Then, silent, he pulled back.

It was one of the most difficult things he'd ever done, extracting himself from Remy's arms and climbing up off that bed. He had no idea how he found the willpower to make his feet carry him across the room. But when he got to the door, when he had to take that last step out, he found he couldn't do it. He couldn't just walk away. No matter how much of a movie cliché it was, he stopped there with one hand on the doorframe and turned back, looking back at the figure lying there in the bed watching him with worry and love and so much confusion in those demon eyes. Spencer couldn't tell him what was going on. He couldn't afford to, especially not with an audience. But he could give him something. Just in case things went south, he could give him this, at least. " _Je t'aime, mon mari_." He said, saying the words that he hadn't let himself say for a long time. Then he said the words he knew only Remy would understand. Something that they'd used to say with a little smile and a laugh—because it was ridiculous and childish and Remy had heard it in a movie and it'd made him laugh—when they were going into something they weren't sure they'd come back from. Lips curving, Spencer gave him one last smile. "See you on the flip side."

The horrified look on Remy's face stuck with him for hours afterwards.

* * *

The chair he sat in was surprisingly comfortable. That was the random thought floating through Spencer's mind as he sat at the long table here in one of the Bureau's many conference rooms. It wasn't an important thought, just an inane observation that flittered through there as he sat back in his chair and waited in the now silent room. A room in which, for the past hour, he'd told his story yet again from the moment that Belle showed until that final moment that the team had arrived at Desi's home. Every step had been told carefully, with just the right amount of detail, a direct accounting of his actions and the actions of his team.

It was the most carefully constructed lie he'd ever told.

There were things that he could and couldn't tell here. The Guilds, obviously, weren't mentioned in the least bit. Belle's involvement was carefully downplayed. Some of his own actions were carefully omitted. In the whole thing there was one large benefit in Belle having delayed in coming to him. Any information that Spencer had that might be considered 'questionable', he could attribute to a private investigator that Belle had hired—whose name she'd supplied him with days ago on the off chance that this all blew up in their faces. They had both gone into this knowing that things could end in a very fishy way. It wasn't in Spencer's nature to go into something without plans upon plans. He and Belle had been preparing for him to have to account to things to the Bureau. They'd worked hard to make sure that as many bases had been covered as possible. There was no way anyone at the Bureau could accuse Spencer of using any of his 'questionable skills'. They had nothing that linked this to the life he'd led before he came here. His trip to Rome back in the day had been legal, properly documented, so there was no issue as to how he'd met Desi. That had been easily explained.

His relationship to Remy hadn't been as easy. Saying that they'd been married in a foreign country and never filed papers here, it wasn't illegal, though to them it was questionable. But there was nothing illegal about it that they could really do anything about.

Getting through the story had been difficult and he'd had to carefully tap dance his way through a lot of it, but he'd come a long way from the young con artist who had tried to fake it to Jason Gideon in that interrogation room all those years ago. He'd learned and grown since then. Studied under some of the best profiles the Bureau had. He wondered if they'd ever worried about someone 'like him' ever turning those skills against them.

In the end, it wasn't the case, wasn't Desi's obsession or his marriage to Remy, that had him here. They might question it, might have their reservations about it, but Spencer wasn't worried about his ability to talk past that. No, it was one event—one hour of time. That was what was being called into question the most here. Those events were what he was being held accountable for today.

Spencer wore his ring on his finger—the word was out now and he wasn't going to hide his ring anymore—and Remy's still around his neck. The feel of them both gave him strength and courage to sit there with his spine straight and meet the gazes of the panel of people who would decide his fate. Erin sat at the center of them, two men and one woman spaced out on either side of her. Isaac, Oscar and Vicki, all from the legal department. All here to basically make sure that this was neatly taken care of with the Bureau coming out in the best light possible, Spencer knew.

Four people who basically held his life in their hands.

He looked up directly at Erin Strauss, meeting her gaze without hesitation.

Whatever Erin saw in his look had her mouth twisting ever so slightly. Closing the folder in front of her, she sat back in her seat. "You understand, Dr. Reid, the seriousness of what we're here discussing today?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm fully aware." _Far more than you are_ , he mentally tacked on.

"From start to finish this has been one giant mess. The sheer amount of mistakes made are astounding." Folding her hands in her lap, she fixed him with a glare she probably thought was intimidating. "You took on this case on your own, without reporting it to your Unit Chief. You brought in evidence gained from a source I consider rather questionable…"

"I assure you, ma'am." Spencer cut in smoothly. "Luce Green is a legitimate and highly respected private investigator."

"I'm still unclear as to why Ms. Boudreaux hired an investigator instead of filing a report with the police."

"Ms. Boudreaux belongs to an old, southern family that prides itself on its reputation." True, though not quite in the way that they would take it. "We've all seen it before, ma'am. Old families that don't want their name dragged through the media. They want it solved quickly and quietly. She was hoping that a private investigator would be able to do that. When that didn't work, she approached me."

"At which point your response should've been to report to your Unit Chief and go through the proper channels." Erin countered. She saw Spencer was about to speak and held up a hand. "That isn't even the most questionable part of your actions, Dr. Reid. We've already discussed that, at length. What we're here to discuss now are your actions last night. The ones that resulted in an injured private bodyguard and the death of the man he was guarding."

"A man who had kidnapped and subsequently tortured someone." Spencer felt compelled to point out.

Vicki sat up a little straighter and fixed him with a look that was just a hair softer than Erin's, a bit warmer. "We're not saying that he wasn't a criminal." Her tone was low, placating, and Spencer tried not to roll his eyes at her attempts to soothe him. She was playing calm to Erin's anger at the moment, trying to play _him_.

He'd planned on trying to be calm. He'd planned to keep himself in control. Yet as he looked at them now, that calm veneer faded away like so much smoke. The temper he so rarely showed rose to the surface and, without realizing it, he sat up a little straighter. "Don't insult my intelligence by trying to play good cop/bad cop with me, ma'am. I've worked with and trained under the best profilers this Bureau has to offer and I deserve enough respect to not have to play these kinds of games."

"I beg your pardon?" Erin said sharply.

Oscar leaned forward as well and glared at Spencer, his distaste obvious on his face just as it had been through this whole sham of an interview. "Now see here, doctor."

"No." Spencer's voice was the sharp one now, with more of a bite than he'd ever showed them. He didn't lean forward like they did. Instead, he sat back a little, crossing one leg over the other and folding his hands in his lap. His spine was straight and his chin up. He looked comfortable and confident and nothing like the shy, awkward genius he was known for being. There was a harder edge to his words, too. They'd pushed him as far as he was willing to be pushed. This was where he drew the line. "Ever since the day I signed that contract with Gideon, I've towed the line. I accepted all of your conditions and followed them to the letter. For ten years, I've done exactly what you wanted."

Now he leaned forward and his movements were smooth, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. They watched as he pulled the ring off his finger and set it down on the table with a low thunk. Next he pulled off his necklace and set it down as well so that their rings stood side by side. Not once did he take his eyes off the people across the table from him.

"While the paperwork was never filed to recognize my marriage in the United States, I married Remy LeBeau in Paris when I was eighteen years old." He paused to watch their faces, watch the surprise play there, and to let his words really sink in. When he spoke again, his voice was still sharp, but it was steady. He wouldn't shout at them. The levelness of his tone voice gave them all the more power and he knew it. "When Gideon told me my options that day, he said I could either join with all of you and leave every bit of my old life behind, or I could risk having my life and the lives of those I love put under a microscope. I chose the only option that I felt would keep everyone safe. I walked away from them, away from Remy, because I loved them too much to put them through that. But it all came with a hell of a cost. One that I've come to realize was far too steep."

"What are you saying?" Isaac asked him. To his surprise, the man didn't sound angry or worried. He sounded curious and he looked oddly calm.

Spencer looked curiously at him for a moment. Then, drawing in a breath, he answered the question, knowing that there was no going back after this. "I'm saying that I'm done playing games. I'm done being miserable and I'm done making the people I care about miserable. I've already contacted my lawyer, who is going to push through the paperwork to get my marriage acknowledged in the US. By the end of the week, I hope to have everything through to make me Dr. LeBeau."

"Are you sure that's something you want to do?" Erin asked.

There was no ignoring the threat in her words. It was clear what she was saying with that. Spencer bristled underneath it and his eyes snapped over to her. "Oh, most definitely, _ma'am_."

"You understand what this could mean for you."

"I understand that the majority of my alleged crimes are well beyond the statute of limitations. I understand that you have absolutely nothing with which to charge me. Not for back then, and not for now, either." Spencer didn't even bother to hide his smile. Reaching out, he gathered up his rings, slipping the one onto his finger and the necklace back around his neck. Then he pushed up from his chair until he was standing beside the table looking down at them. "As I said, ma'am, I'm done playing these games. I've given ten long years of my life to this Bureau and in return, this is what I get—accusations, disrespect. Well, I'm done. I won't give up my family again, not even if it costs me my job here."

To their shock, he pulled his credentials from his pocket and laid them out on the table. He would've laid out his gun, too, but it had already been taken in as evidence.

"The decision is yours." He told them quietly, his voice echoing in the otherwise silent room. "But when you make your decision, keep in mind—I won't play anymore. I'm not going to deny who I am or who I know. I'm done hiding. If you want me here, it's going to be all of me, the good _and_ the bad." One last time he ran his eyes over each person in the room. Then he gave a small nod. "I'll leave you to debate your decision. Right now, I'm going to go and see my husband. I hope to hear from you soon. Sirs. Ma'ams."

No one stopped him as Spencer turned on his heel and left the room. The sound of the door clicking shut once more echoed loudly around them.


	13. Chapter 13

When Spencer got outside the Bureau, his plans had been to call himself a cab. What he hadn't expected was to be standing there with his cell phone open and to have a car pull up in front of him and Rey leaning over to open up the passenger's door and smirk at him. "Need a lift?"

Spencer slid down into the car and buckled himself in. He looked curiously over at Rey as the Thief started to pull away. For a long moment Spencer just stared at him. Then he shook his head. "You've been here the whole time, haven't you." It was more of a statement than a question.

A small smirk crossed Rey's lips. "Since the moment you arrived."

"And the others?"

"Stationed at the hospital."

It really shouldn't have been all that surprising. Still, it made Spencer shake his head. What exactly had Rey expected to happen to him while he was inside the Bureau? What went on in there wasn't anything that the Thief would be able to do anything about. Hell, he wouldn't even know about it until after the fact. "You do realize that I don't need protection, don't you? Especially inside of a building full of Federal Agents."

"You're Remy's husband." Rey said, as if that explained everything. In a way, it did.

The rest of the car ride was done in silence. Spencer appreciated that. There was no conversation, no music, nothing but the regular sounds of the road. It gave Spencer a bit of time to just sit and gather himself. To push down the worries and fears as far as he could and focus on what was important. Or, _who_ was important. Spencer's words to Erin and the others had been true. He was done playing their games and he was done giving up everything in his life for a Bureau that cared for him for no more reason than his mind. He was done making himself and those he loved miserable. This whole situation had forced Spencer to face a reality where Remy wasn't in it and he had never felt anything more terrifying to him. Not even when it'd been his own life on the line had he been so scared as he was when he'd been faced with losing Remy. It brought home some hard truths that Spencer couldn't deny anymore. He loved his job. He loved the team that he worked with. But he loved Remy more.

By the time the car finally came to a stop, Spencer had himself under control once more.

He opened his eyes to find that Rey had driven them to the hospital. A small smile ghosted over his lips. He hadn't said anything about where he was going when he got in the car and yet Rey had brought him right to where he'd wanted to be. "How did you know I was going here?"

Rey gave him a look that clearly asked how stupid Spencer thought he was. Then, with a shake of his head, he turned and climbed out of the car, leaving Spencer sitting there smiling slightly with amusement.

Now that he was looking for them it was easy for Spencer to see the guards in the hospital. Not just Remy's Thieves, but Belle's Assassins as well. He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen them earlier. Then again he'd been rather stressed when he'd stopped by earlier _and_ he'd had two federal guards with him at the time. The others had probably discreetly stayed out of the way once they caught sight of Spencer's guards. Now, when they saw his current guard, they actually nodded a little, acknowledging the both of them. It had Spencer's lips twitching with the urge to smile.

He slanted a look over at Rey as they stepped into the elevator and couldn't resist asking. "So how did you get stuck with me instead of here with everyone else?" He knew from Belle just how loyal Rey was to Remy and how much of an honor he considered it to lead Remy's personal guard. Whenever Remy took over for his father one day, Rey would most likely be the head of that guard as well, an even higher honor than he had now. It was why Spencer was so surprised to see the man arrive at the Bureau instead of being with Remy.

Arching an eyebrow, Rey looked at him like he was crazy. He leaned forward and pressed the button for Remy's floor. "I didn't get stuck with you. I chose it."

"Why?" Spencer asked curiously. "The last time we were together, I threatened to shoot you."

A bright grin flashed over Rey's features. "You didn't mean it, though. Besides, you were doing it to save Remy, and I can only respect that. It is my job, after all."

That brought up a few questions that Spencer had had ever since Belle had introduced him to the guards. Chewing on the inside of his lip, Spencer snuck a glance over at the man next to him, debating whether or not he should ask or if it would be appropriate.

He didn't realize how obvious he was being until Rey, without turning away from the doors, said "Whatever it is, just ask."

Spencer huffed slightly even as his cheeks colored a little. He hadn't meant to be so obvious. Still, Rey had given permission. "It's just…I don't understand this whole guard thing, I guess. Aren't you all, well…?"

"Thieves?" Rey supplied helpfully. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Rey stepped out first, smoothly looking around before allowing Spencer to exit. The two moved side by side as they made their way past the crowd and over to the desk where visitors had to sign in. Rey held off answering Spencer's question until they were in the mostly empty hall, heading down towards Remy's room. "The others and I were all trained the same as Remy, or any other of our…group." He smiled a little at Spencer, making sure he understood the word that he wasn't saying. Talking about Thieves right out here in the open wasn't smart. When Spencer nodded to show he understood, Rey continued. "Inside the group, once you reach a certain level of study, you can branch off into different—let's call them specialties. Some, like Remy, move towards Master status. Some, like me, shift our training to the Guards."

That, made sense. It also told Spencer that the Guilds were a lot more organized and in depth than he'd ever really given thought to. He'd left that part of his life before he could get that deeply entrenched in it.

They rounded the corner to another hall and Remy's room was just ahead. In the chairs nearby, a man sat with a newspaper, looking like any other person milling around. He could've easily passed as a man just waiting for someone to exit one of the rooms if it wasn't for how he looked up at Rey as they got close. A flick of the eyes, a small tilt to his head.

Rey walked Spencer right up to Remy's door and didn't hesitate to rap his knuckles against it. He waited not even a second after before opening it and gesturing Spencer inside. Spencer followed the direction, just slightly bemused by this whole guard act. He wasn't used to being guarded by anyone. If anything, he was more used to doing the guarding.

All those thoughts fell away as he moved into the room and saw Remy sitting up in his bed.

It was only the presence of the people at Remy's bedside that kept Spencer from launching at the man the way he had earlier. Belle was side by side with Remy, one hip hitched up onto the bed, the both of them facing the two agents that stood by the foot of the bed—Dave and Derek. They were all watching Spencer as he came in and he knew he should probably pay attention to them, say something, but it was hard when he was putting all his effort into calmly walking up to Remy's bedside. Behind him, he heard Rey quietly leave the room, the door clicking shut softly.

"Dere y' are." Belle said brightly, breaking the silence. "I've been wondering when y' were going to show up."

Smiling, he made his way up to Remy's bedside. "Yes, well, I had some business to attend to first. I'm here now, though." He stopped right beside Remy and while he may have been able to keep himself from climbing up into the bed like he had earlier, he couldn't help but reach out and brush a bit of Remy's messy hair back from his face. Someone had washed it but they hadn't cut it from the mess that Desi had made of it. Absently Spencer made a note to get a hold of some scissors later and help fix it.

Remy leaned in to his touch, pressing the side of his head into Spencer's hand. He looked up at Spencer, squinting a little in the light, and Spencer added sunglasses to his mental list. "Y'r jus' in time. Dese agents were jus' trying to talk deir way around explaining whatever meeting y' was at."

"Ah. Was it working?" Spencer asked teasingly.

" _Non_." Chuckling, Remy rubbed his head a little against Spencer's hand. His devilish eyes slanted over towards the two agents and they sparkled a little with good humor. "Dey aint very good at it."

Humor tickled at the back of Spencer's throat. Remy had always been capable of making him laugh no matter the situation they were in. "Go easy on them. They've been thrown quite a few curveballs lately." He looked over to his teammates and tried not to let his smile falter under their curious looks. "Actually, I'm surprised to see you guys here."

"We weren't exactly expecting to see you here either." Derek said, sharp eyes catching the way that Spencer's hand slid down Remy's head to finally settle on the back of his neck. There was something in his tone, a hint of a question, and Spencer knew what he was really saying. They hadn't expected him to come at all, or to come without some kind of escort.

Spencer grounded himself on the warmth of Remy's neck under his hand, stroking his thumb over the side of Remy's neck. "Things wrapped up a little quicker than I'd anticipated." There was no real point in trying to hide things. Soon enough, everyone would find out about it. Spencer had just hoped to explain it all to Remy without the audience, because he had a feeling that it was going to stun him. But one look at Remy's face told him that he wasn't going to be able to put this off. If he didn't start explaining, Remy was going to start pushing. Spencer blew out a breath and looked down at his husband. "What my teammates were apparently trying _not_ to tell you is that I was at a meeting with our section chief, as well as three other people from the legal department. It was technically supposed to be a meeting to decide if Desi's death was a justified shooting or if criminal charges were going to be brought."

"What was it really?" Belle asked, catching on to his use of the word 'technically'.

He could see in Remy's eyes that the Cajun understood what the meeting had really been about even if the others didn't. Sure enough, "Dey was trying to make sure dey still owned y'."

That was it in a nutshell. All the games and word play aside, that had been their goal. They'd been trying to make sure that Spencer was still theirs.

"And what'd you tell them?" Dave asked. He was smiling at Spencer, the look in his eyes suggesting that he already had a pretty good idea of how the meeting had gone.

Spencer smiled at his friends before looking back down at Remy. He ignored their audience for the moment and said the words to the person he knew they'd matter most to. Their eyes locked and Spencer smiled. "I told them that I wasn't going to play their games anymore. That I've spent the last ten years of my life living under their rules and their guidelines and that I was done." He slid his hand off of Remy's neck to brush some hair back from the Cajun's face, running his knuckles lightly over Remy's cheek. "I told them that I'd walked away from the man that I loved because it was the only way to keep him safe, but I wasn't going to do it anymore. Then I put my credentials on the table and told them that the decision was theirs. They could either accept me as I am, the good and the bad, or not at all. And then I told them I was going to go see my husband."

The way that Remy's face lit up banished any fears that Spencer might've had. There was a stunned joy there that lit up his eyes. But Spencer wasn't done yet.

"You know I'm not good at these kinds of things, Remy. Emotions are always hard and uncomfortable for me to deal with or to vocalize. But I know the words are important to you and you deserve to hear this said plainly, at least once." Bringing up his other hand, Spencer carefully cupped Remy's face, holding him in place as he said the things he'd always been afraid to say, things that had never been easy for him to say. "I love you. Not like a brother, not like a friend, but as the center of my everything. We married for so many different reasons, and at the time I truly believed that's all there was, but it's not all there is anymore. I love you with every single part of me and I'm so sorry that it took me so long to say it, and to realize that there is nothing and no one more important to me than you. Not my job, not some stupid reputation, _nothing_. And I want to spend the rest of my life reminding you of that fact."

Tears pooled in Remy's eyes and dripped down his cheeks but his smile was the brightest Spencer had ever seen it. " _Merde_ , y' had to go an make me cry, y' _connard_." Reaching up, Remy grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him down into a kiss that was hard enough it broke open the split on his lip. Spencer swiped his tongue over the cut, making Remy groan low in his throat. Neither one of them noticed or even cared anymore about their audience. They didn't even notice when Belle rose from the bed to go stand by the agents.

The two finally pulled back to smile at one another. Remy pulled Spencer in enough that their foreheads were pressed together and their noses brushed just as they'd done earlier. " _Je t'aime aussi, mon cœur. Toujours_." Always, he promised. Forever.

That sounded perfect to Spencer.

* * *

There was no prying Spencer from Remy's room after that. He stayed at his husband's side for the duration of his stay at the hospital. Not that it really lasted that long. Despite Spencer's protests that maybe he should stay just a little longer, Remy checked out after only having spent three days, two nights, there. It wasn't really surprising. Spencer knew how Remy hated hospitals. But it didn't mean that he liked seeing Remy limp his way out of the hospital.

They went to the hotel where Belle was still staying and where, apparently, Remy had rented a room as well. No one suggested going to Spencer's apartment and for that he was grateful. The reminder of his place having been searched, rifled through and _violated_ , was still with him and he doubted he would've been comfortable there. He had a feeling that Remy knew that. So the two went to Remy's hotel room, which was on the floor just below Belle's. Even though Remy had just basically gotten out of bed and ridden over here, he didn't hesitate to lead Spencer to the bedroom of the suite once they were inside. Spencer chuckled a little as Remy tugged him in, shutting the bedroom door behind them. He didn't get a chance to say anything. As soon as they were in, Remy started pushing him in the direction of the bathroom with his one good hand. "G'on, go take a shower, cher."

"Are you trying to imply something?" Spencer asked, not sure if he should be offended or amused.

A sharp grin curved Remy's lips. "Y' smell like de hospital. Get y'r ass in de shower."

"Bossy, bossy, bossy."

He had to admit, though, the shower felt fantastic. He'd made use of the hospital shower yesterday while helping Remy get cleaned up. How Remy had managed to convince the nursing staff of that, Spencer had no idea. It probably involved liberal use of his charm, both his natural charm and his charm power. But cleaning up at a hospital never felt the same as cleaning up outside of one. By the time Spencer was done, he felt so much better, and much more alert. When he stepped out, he found that his clothes were gone and had been replaced with a fresh stack of clean clothes. Spencer was surprised that Remy had simply slipped in and dropped clothes off without him knowing. Oh, the stealth wasn't surprising. That was just a part of Remy. What made it surprising was that the man hadn't peeked in the shower, hadn't whistled or made some kind of comment. Even before they'd ever been together in any sexual way, he still would've expected a reaction like that from Remy, because the Cajun had always enjoyed making him blush.

Spencer shook his head when he saw that it wasn't his clothes that were waiting for him. Though he knew he had some clothes here—knew, in fact, that Belle herself had gone and gathered some from his apartment for him—the stack of clothes waiting for him were all Remy's, except for the boxers. Those were his. But the pajama pants and the Van Halen t-shirt? Definitely Remy's. The shirt was loose enough that it dipped down over Spencer's shoulder once he slid it on.

He found Remy out in the living room when he made his way out of the bathroom. The Cajun was standing there with Rey, talking low, and Spencer smiled at them as he made his way over. It gave him a warm feeling inside when Remy looked over and his eyes flashed with heat while they raked over Spencer from his wet hair down to his bare feet. He gave a happy little growl and opened up his arm. "Hey, cher. Y' look like y'r feeling a bit better."

"I am." Spencer agreed. He moved into Remy's embrace, easily slotting in against his side like he was made to be there, and then smiled at Rey. "Hey, Rey."

Rey dipped his head, grinning at him. "Doc." He'd taken to calling Spencer that after Spencer had informed him, more than once, that he was not going to be called 'Mister' or 'Monsieur' anything. He had a name, Spencer, and that was good enough. So, of course, Rey had chosen the option that Spencer hadn't presented, just to be contrary, and thus Spencer found himself being referred to as 'Doc'.

He only rolled his eyes at it a little this time. "Everything okay?"

"Mm hm." Remy turned and pressed a kiss against Spencer's temple. "It's fine, cher. Jus' making sure we got security set up right, dat's all."

"Fun, fun."

"Oh, yeah, dat's de word I'd choose."

Their laughter was broken up by the sound of someone knocking at the door.

Remy and Spencer both turned to face the door, a gesture from Rey keeping them in place. The guard made his way over to answer the door for them. As soon as Spencer heard the voice on the other side, he straightened up a little, surprise on his face. He knew that voice. That was Aaron. But what on earth was Aaron doing here? Spencer took a step away from Remy at the same time that Rey stepped back and allowed Aaron Hotchner into the room.

All it took was one look at his face for Spence to freeze in place.

His breath caught in his throat. Watching the profiler coming towards him, there was no need for words. Spencer knew what was coming. It was written all over him. Shock washed over Spencer, followed almost immediately by a sense of peace. The strange limbo that he'd been living in for the past few days was banished in that moment and instead of being upset, as he'd thought he might be, he found himself oddly relieved. He looked at the man that had been his Unit Chief and found himself surprisingly calm. "They made their decision."

Aaron didn't look surprised by Spencer's words. Not that he should have. He'd been one of the people to train Spencer to the profiler that he was now. He knew how talented the young genius was at it. "I convinced Erin to let me handle this. I thought you'd prefer to hear it from me rather than from her."

Spencer smiled a little at that. "Thank you, Hotch."

His boss—no, not his boss anymore, his _friend_ —looked at him with understanding on his face. He didn't ask Spencer if he was sure about this, didn't try to convince him to come in and talk to Erin about any of it, and for that Spencer was grateful. Instead, he straightened up and held his hand out to Spencer in a gesture that generally wasn't turned Spencer's direction. When Spencer reached back, the two clasped hands in one of the few handshakes they'd ever shared. "It's been a privilege to work with you, Reid. We're going to miss you."

"Thank you, sir. I've been proud to work with all of you as well." Spencer said.

There were countless other things that passed between them in that moment. Memories that would always tie them together. Spencer had learned a lot from this man and, in so many ways, he owed him. Aaron had helped to teach him, to mold him into the profiler he was today. He'd helped to save Spencer's life on more than one occasion. Without him, Spencer knew he probably wouldn't be standing here today. Even more than Jason had, this man here had been Spencer's mentor, someone he had looked up to and strived to learn from. Someone he cared for and respected more than he did his own father. Looking at him now, Spencer hoped that Aaron could see that, could see the things that he just couldn't say.

The small smile that touched Aaron's lips told him that maybe he did.

"We'd like to give you a proper sending away party." Aaron told him when they let go of one another. "If you two are up for it, we were thinking a barbeque this weekend at my place. You're both invited, and Belle as well."

Remy stepped up behind Spencer then and slid an arm around his waist. "We'd like dat, M. Hotchner. _Merci_."

"Of course. Saturday, three o'clock."

Even after Aaron was gone, Spencer still stood there, staring at the door. His life had just changed. Completely and irrevocably. There was no going back now. He wasn't SSA Dr. Spencer Reid anymore. He wasn't even just plain old Dr. Reid. By this time tomorrow, the paperwork should finally be through and he would be Dr. LeBeau. Once again, Spencer was faced with the sensation of one part of his life ending—and another beginning. Only this time, he wouldn't be starting it alone, and he wasn't afraid. Not so long as he had Remy.

"Are y' okay?" Remy asked him softly.

Turning in Remy's arm, Spencer looked up into Remy's face, which was still marred by the bruises he'd gotten from a madman bent on trying to take Spencer. Bruises that he'd gotten because even Desi had recognized in some part of him that there was no one more important in Spencer's world. A real smile curved Spencer's lips, triggering an answering smile in Remy. "Yeah." He said, never meaning anymore more than he did this. "Yeah, I am."

THE END


End file.
